Last month in Como, Nico Paz scored inside two minutes, added a second after the break and left Manchester United trailing in a 4-1 Champions League defeat. Now, under a new manager, United reportedly want to sign him in January.

The pursuit is being driven by a clause rather than by form. When Como re-signed Paz from Real Madrid in the summer of 2026, a new buyback was written into the deal, reported by The People’s Person at £67m and usable in a single window next summer. If Madrid trigger it, Paz returns to the Bernabéu for far less than his open-market valuation. If United get in first, the clause never opens.

The People’s Person reports that INEOS is ready to accelerate talks, and that Mauricio Pochettino has been tasked with using his status as a fellow Argentine to help persuade Paz to join. The 54-year-old was appointed as Michael Carrick’s replacement on Friday after United’s worst Premier League start in decades left the club in the relegation zone after ten matches.

Bruno Fernandes’s contract will not go away

The urgency also reflects the uncertainty around the player Paz would eventually succeed. Bruno Fernandes has rejected a second Manchester United contract offer, with salary and length the sticking points in extended talks.

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The 32-year-old captain’s current deal expires in June 2027, and United hold a 12-month extension option. If that option is not triggered, Fernandes would be free from 1 January to agree a pre-contract with foreign clubs. United remain publicly confident a renewal will be signed, but the planning now runs on two tracks.

What Paz has done this season

Paz’s statistics are the other half of the equation. Across 14 appearances in all competitions this season he has six goals and eight assists. In the Champions League alone, he has three goals and five assists in four group-phase games.

His display against United on 21 October, a goal in the second minute, another after the break and an assist in a 4-1 win, made him the youngest Argentine with three goal involvements in a Champions League match since Lionel Messi in April 2009. He was also named Como’s player of the match against Chelsea and Liverpool earlier in the group phase, with reports of Chelsea interest running parallel to United’s.

January first, then Anfield

Pochettino’s first match in charge is away at Liverpool on Sunday 22 November. The winter transfer window opens six weeks later.

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