Como: ‘Always confident of Nico Paz, no Chelsea negotiation for Chalobah’

Como director Carlalberto Ludi was never worried that Inter or Real Madrid would take Nico Paz away, but insists there are 'no negotiations' with Chelsea for Trevoh Chalobah. The product of the Real Madrid youth academy was sold to Como for just €6m with a buy-back clause set at €9m, leading to speculation that either the Merengues would recall the player or sell him on at a profit this summer. Instead, Como managed to negotiate the purchase of the remaining 50 percent of his contract for €60m, with Real Madrid agreeing to a new buy-back option worth €80m valid only for June 2027.

"I understand the clamour to write and comment when talking about a talent like Nico Paz," Como director Ludi told reporters when asked if he ever feared Inter swooping in. "The truth is that we do not think about what others do, but on what we can control. We could control our rapport with Real Madrid, we could control the rapport with Nico Paz and his agents. We felt confident that we could control the situation after two fantastic seasons together, and put ourselves in a position to play our cards at the negotiation table."

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A key part of the deal was the fact that Nico Paz was eager to continue his adventure at Como with coach Cesc Fabregas, especially after qualifying for the Champions League. "I do think his desire to stay was decisive," confessed Ludi. "We've got to thank Nico, but also the inspirational abilities of Fabregas, who for talents of this level represents a strategic element for Como. The vision and desire of the President were also decisive for keeping Nico. It's not official yet, but we had some very interesting meetings and at the end were very happy with the results."

Inter and Como are expected to battle on the transfer market again this summer for Chelsea defender Chalobah, but Ludi poured cold water on those questions. "I will only define a player as an objective when there are negotiations in place. As of today, there are no negotiations for Chalobah."