Real Madrid Close to Resigning Promising Youngster
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One of the talking points of Real Madrid's season so far has been the use - or otherwise - of the young players. Endrick has played just 11 minutes all season, whilst Gonzalo Garcia has played just 164 minutes.
However, Arda Guler has played 1163 minutes - more than he played in the entirety of 23/24, and more than 50% of his gametime from last season. Meanwhile, Franco Mastantuono has played 695 minutes, despite a recent injury.
Now, it appears that the River Plate academy graduate could be joined at Los Blancos by a compatriot and international team mate.
According to a reliable Argentine journalist Gaston Edul, Real Madrid will activate their buy-back clause for Como's Nico Paz in the January transfer window. He reports that the player has been informed, and a decision has been made.
The 21-year old left for Como for around 5 million Euros in the summer of 2024, but it has been widely reported that a buy-back for only a little more money was inserted in the deal with the Serie A outfit.
During his debut season in the north of Italy, Paz scored six goals and provided eight assists in 35 games - and has already set four up this season to go along with five goals of his own in just 13 games, as Como sit sixth in the current table.
Since the start of last season, the attacking midfielder has won six caps for the Argentina national team, and looks to have a good chance of making their squad for the World Cup next summer, if all goes well.
This makes for an interesting discussion regarding a potential transfer to Real Madrid. Is it a risk for the player, just months before the World Cup? It will be interesting to see how much game time he will get under Xabi Alonso.
As mentioned above, Guler and Mastantuono have been getting plenty of minutes so far and are both held in high regard. Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham is now back to his brilliant best post-surgery. So, is there a clear fit for Paz in this side?
Perhaps it would be better for the player to continue thriving under Cesc Fabregas in Serie A for the rest of the season, secure his spot in the World Cup squad, and then revisit the situation in the summer.
There is also the possibility that Real Madrid will activate the buy-back in order to sell Paz for a heavy profit, allowing the club to reinvest further into the squad. However, that would feel an immoral thing to do - particularly for a club not short of cash in the first place.
Either way, it is clear that the Argentine international is a very good player with a bright future, let's hope that whatever decisions are made are done with the right intentions.
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Tom Vinall is a sports writer covering Real Madrid On SI. Previously, he had worked at FanSided as both a contributor and site expert, covering the likes of Spurs and Bayern Munich. He has also previously written for Transfer News Live. Tom was born and lives in Bristol, South West England, and loves to listen to music as well as learning Spanish.
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