Real Madrid Puts €60 Million Price Tag on Nico Paz. Inter May Have to Ditch Liverpool’s Jones.

Real Madrid just made Inter Milan’s summer a whole lot more complicated. The Spanish club has signaled it’s willing to sell Argentine midfielder Nico Paz for €60 million, and that sudden availability is forcing the Nerazzurri to rethink everything about their midfield shopping list.

According to Tuttosport, Inter had pretty much walked away from the Paz sweepstakes earlier this summer, planning to spend their money elsewhere — specifically on a move for Liverpool’s Curtis Jones. But Madrid’s unexpected openness to a sale, driven by new manager José Mourinho’s own roster plans (he’s reportedly got Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni on his defensive wishlist), has reopened the conversation in Milan.

The problem is financial. Signing Paz would require a serious cash injection from Inter’s owners at Oaktree Capital, on top of whatever player sales the club already had lined up. That’s where the Jones situation gets interesting.

The Curtis Jones Budget Gets Redirected

Inter had offered Liverpool around €20 million for the English midfielder. But with Paz now on the table as a potential creative mezzala in the Simone Inzaghi system — think Luis Alberto’s role during Inzaghi’s Lazio days — Jones becomes redundant. If they land Paz, that €20 million earmarked for Jones can get folded into the bigger deal.

But €60 million is still a long way from €20 million. To bridge the gap, Inter would need to move several pieces off the roster. Alexandar Stankovic has had a standout season on loan at Bruges, and the club thinks they could get roughly €40 million for him. Beyond that, Davide Frattesi, Luis Henrique, Benjamin Pavard, and Carlos Augusto are all candidates to be sold.

It’s an aggressive restructuring for a club that doesn’t usually operate this way in the summer market. But the upside is clear: Paz, at 21 years old, has shown serious flashes in Serie A with Como and would fit the profile of a long-term creative engine in midfield.

Nothing is done yet. Madrid could still decide to keep Paz or find another buyer. But right now, Inter’s front office is working the phones and running the numbers — and the guy from Liverpool might end up being the casualty of a much bigger plan.