Before Jurgen Klopp has officially sat down in the Bernabeu dugout, his first piece of business is apparently sorted. Real Madrid are set to exercise a purchase option on Nico Paz, bringing the 21-year-old Argentina international back from Como for €9m — roughly £7.8m. At that price, it's less a transfer and more a correction of an oversight.
Paz has earned it. The midfielder has scored 12 goals and added six assists for Como in Serie A this season — numbers that would turn heads at a mid-table club, let alone from a player at a side fighting to stay in the division. Real Madrid kept a purchase option when they sold him, and they'd be foolish not to use it.
Klopp in, Mbappe unhappy
Reports in Spain claim Klopp has reached an 'agreement in principle' to take over at the end of the season, with Real Madrid's turbulent campaign under Alvaro Arbeloa effectively confirming a summer reset is coming. Los Blancos are 11 points behind Barcelona in La Liga and were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. The pressure for change has been building for months.
Not everyone is on board. Kylian Mbappe reportedly wants Jose Mourinho in the job instead — a detail that tells you everything about where the power dynamics at Real Madrid currently stand, and raises its own questions about how that dressing room functions going into next season.
Klopp would inherit a squad that needs a firm hand and a clear identity. The Xabi Alonso era ended in the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona, amid reports of dressing room unrest over team selections and tactics. Arbeloa steadied nothing.
Why Paz makes sense regardless of who's managing
Nico Paz returning for €9m is sound business whether Klopp takes charge or not. At 21, with genuine creative output at Serie A level, he's exactly the kind of profile Real Madrid's midfield refresh demands. Fabrizio Romano flagged back in January that a summer move was coming — this is simply confirmation of what was already in motion.
David Alaba is also expected to leave on a free transfer, so Real Madrid need bodies as much as they need a direction. A €9m buy-back on a player they developed themselves isn't a headline signing — but it's the smart kind of deal that tends to look better in three years than it does today.
Real Madrid's La Liga title odds are already buried for this season. The real question is whether Klopp — if he does arrive — can close an 11-point gap to Barcelona next year. Paz is a start, but only just.
