Nico Paz puts Como on Europe’s radar with a brace-less four-goal win, a Tenerife tribute and Premier League bidders sniffing

Nico Paz is the name on every transfer desk in Europe after the 22-year-old Argentine scored in Como’s 4-0 Champions League win at Lens and then held up a shirt tribute to late Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel. The same Champions League cycle also produced reports of a 4-1 Como win over Manchester United, with Paz named Player of the Match and Argentina coach Roberto Martinez saying: ‘It’s like watching Maradona’.

Paz against Lens: the goal and the tribute

The Lens match report from Goal.com recorded the final as Lens 0-4 Como, with Da Cunha making it four early in the second half and with Papaccioli scoring on debut. BBC’s Premier League and Europe coverage carried the image of Paz celebrating his own goal while honouring de Miguel. La Gazzetta dello Sport added the detail that mattered off the ball: after the 3-0 goal against Lens, Paz did not do a personal celebration; he showed a picture of the late striker. The same report framed the moment through family and place, naming dad Pablo, Ayoze and a 70-goal year, and calling the Tenerife connection deep rather than incidental.

The numbers behind the hype

The New York Times called Paz Lionel Messi’s Argentine heir after a playmaking display that reportedly destroyed Manchester United. Diario AS described him as Real Madrid’s former wonderkid shining in one of the Champions League’s most brutal defeats. Soy Fútbol, citing Opta Italy, put the production line in order: since 2024 in Europe’s top five leagues, Paz has 21 goals and 17 assists, and among players under 23 only Lamine Yamal has better numbers. For instance, a teenager’s assist count being the only one above his tells you the ceiling Europe is pricing in. At Como last season, Sportskeeda said he struck 13 times with seven assists in 40 games across competitions; twelve of those goals and six assists came in 35 Serie A outings.

Why Real Madrid stay in his story

Sportskeeda also reported that Paz opened up on deciding not to return to Real Madrid after a sparkling Champions League debut with Como. That is the part the buyback clause explains: GiveMeSport carried the explainer on Real Madrid’s clause over Paz, meaning his former club remains written into any exit plan even though the player has chosen to build at Como. The La Gazzetta tribute report suggests the pull behind the decision is not only football: Tenerife, through de Miguel and his own background, is emotionally in play. So the realistic reading of the Madrid link is not a simple homecoming. It is a former club with a contractual route back, a player who has publicly chosen Como, and a performance level that keeps the route worth talking about.

Where the transfer talk actually stands

Sports Illustrated’s transfer page carried two linked ideas: a blockbuster Manchester United offer for Paz and a three-way bidding war for Fernandez; do not merge them. The Fernandez war is a separate contest, but the Paz offer shows the scale of the market now moving. EPL Index said Como blocked a January move amid interest from Chelsea and Arsenal, dating its report to late October. Lens-Como player ratings from Goal.com echoed the on-field case for those bids: Paz put on a show, while teammate Douvikas was compared to Del Piero.

For a mid-September La Liga fan this would have read like a different sport. For Serie A observers, the relevant benchmark is simpler. A 22-year-old with 21 goals and 17 assists across Europe’s top five leagues since 2024, a Champions League display that drew a Maradona comparison, and a buyback clause still held by the club that sold him cheap, is not a January negotiation. He is a contract asset with a release debate attached. Como’s block in January means the next window is where the offers either meet the valuation or get answered by performances like the one at Lens.

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Rohan Menon

Rohan Menon covers business, personal finance, markets, startups and economic developments. He breaks down complex financial and business topics into clear, easy-to-understand stories for a general audience.

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