Chelsea and Brentford are linked with interest in the Southampton man.placeholder image
Chelsea and Brentford are linked with interest in the Southampton man. | AFP via Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur have made an offer for a new midfielder after learning the severe extent of James Maddison’s injury
Tottenham Hotspur have made a bid worth just under £35m for Como attacking midfielder Nico Paz, according to reports in Italy.
Spurs will be without James Maddison for the vast majority of the 2025-26 campaign after they confirmed the player will undergo surgery after he ruptured the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee.
The 28-year-old former Leicester City man suffered the injury in a pre-season friendly with Premier League rivals Newcastle United in South Korea last weekend.
Now Spurs, per Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, have made a bid of around £35m for Paz. The offer has been rejected, however, as the Italian side value the player at £60m and it would take a minimal offer of £52m to bring Como to the table to begin discussions.
Real Madrid do have a matching rights clause in the agreement so if Spurs do return with an improved offer and if it is accepted then the La Liga giants have the chance to sign him for the same price. If not, they will bank 50 per cent of the sale.
Man Utd and Chelsea also interested in Paz
According to Caught Offside, Spurs are just one of three Premier League clubs interested in Paz. Chelsea and Manchester United have also been named as parties who are keen on the midfielder who is described in the report as “one of the hottest names in European football.”
Como are said to want Paz to sign a new deal at the club that would remove Madrid’s matching rights and the significant 50 per cent sell-on clause. Whether Chelsea make a firm move this window remains to be seen after a busy summer at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils are reported to view Paz as “a key part of their midfield rebuild.” The Old Trafford outfit have signed several attacking players this summer but have yet to significantly strengthen their midfield or defence.
Tottenham start competitive season in less than a week
Thomas Frank will take charge of his first competitive game for Spurs on Wednesday in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain. The North London outfit were beaten 4-0 by Bayern Munich in their final pre-season outing on Thursday.
Frank reflected: “We were obviously playing a very good team tonight,” he said.
“Bayern in my opinion are one of the teams that probably are favourites to win the Champions League. They hit a good level, we didn’t hit a good level, that’s a bad combination but we will definitely learn from this one. I definitely got some answers that we will look into and we will calmly reflect on it after the game now and look through it. Also it seems like we lacked some energy somehow which we need to find – no team can play without that energy.”
On the Super Cup, he added: “We will 100 per cent be ready for that game, I’m not in doubt about that. There are six days ahead, we have a normal week for the first time in the last two weeks so with everything – just getting down, less travel, energise them (the players), three or four good sessions – then we will be ready against PSG.”
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