Nico Paz

Nico Paz

Contents

Paz dribbles past his opponent, enters the penalty area, spots the run of his full-back, and provides him with a superb chipped pass.Paz makes a very well timed run into the penalty area and scores with a clinical finish.

Full name: Nicolás Paz Martínez

Country: Argentina/Spain

Date of birth: 08/09/2004 (18 years old)

Place of birth: Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain)

Height: 185cm

Youth career: San Juan, CD Tenerife, Real Madrid (since 2016)

Current club: Real Madrid

Squad number: —

Current national team: Argentina U-20

Position: central midfielder, attacking midfielder, winger

Preferred foot: left

Market value (by transfermarkt.de): —

Tournaments participated in: Mondial Football Montaigu 2022 (2/1), UEFA Youth League 2022/2023 (5/5)

Contract until: unknown

Player’s agent: Best of You

Transfer rumours: —

Similar type of player: Fabián Ruiz/James Rodríguez

Strengths:

– passing

– vision

– technique

– ball control

– dribbling

– off-the-ball movement

– versatility

– football IQ

– creativity

– first touch

– long shots

– heading

To improve:

– not the fastest player

– he can be a little bit passive and needs to be more aggressive in the defensive phase

– quality and frequency of using his right weaker foot

Style of play:

– roaming playmaker/advanced playmaker

– player with a good body mass ratio who feels comfortable in the physical duels and knows how to use his body well to gain advantage

– versatile player who is naturally adept in several positions such as central midfielder, attacking midfielder, and winger

– tactically astute and technically capable of playing in various tactical systems

– extremely elegant on the ball with a superb touch and excellent close control

– likes to dribble

– likes to occupy and make his attacking movements through the left halfspace

– midfielder who sees the game differently from most and knows how to create dynamism in the team’s build-up process by using his natural verticality, good vision, and passing ability

– likes to have the ball at his feet and often is an additional passing option

– intelligent player with good positional sense and spatial awareness who finds the space well between the lines

– thanks to his timing and intelligence, he’s able to make effective late runs into the opposite penalty box lurking for a chance to exploit his shooting skills

– possesses powerful and accurate mid-range and long-range shooting skills

– prolific with above-average finishing, movement, and composure in the final third

– very good footwork and dribbling skills in tight spaces

– excellent composure and retention skills under pressure

– extremely difficult to knock off the ball thanks to his strength and close control

– tall player who’s not afraid of heading duels and has a high percentage of aerial challenges won

– competent direct and indirect set-piece taker

Paz dribbles past his opponent, enters the penalty area, spots the run of his full-back, and provides him with a superb chipped pass.

Paz makes a very well timed run into the penalty area and scores with a clinical finish.

Heatmap by Wyscout:

He is best suited to playing as:

Central midfielder in 4-3-3.

Video:

Achievements:

Spanish U-14 Championship 2017/2018 winner with Real Madrid.

Spanish U-15 Championship 2018/2019 winner with Real Madrid.

Spanish U-16 Championship 2019/2020 winner with Real Madrid.

Al Kass International Cup 2020 winner with Real Madrid.

Spanish U-17 Championship 2020/2021 winner with Real Madrid.

Spanish U-18 Championship 2021/2022 winner with Real Madrid.

League summary (as for 29 November 2022):

Primera División RFEF 2021/2022: 6 games/0 goals (Real Madrid Castilla)

Description:

Nico Paz is the son of former Argentine international Pablo Paz. He moved to the famous La Fábrica, Real Madrid youth academy, from Tenerife in 2016. He made his professional debut for Real Madrid Castilla on 8 January 2022 in a 3–1 win over Andorra. On 7 March 2022, he was called up to the Argentina senior team as part of an initial 44-man squad for their two World Cup qualifiers that month. He was also named in Argentina’s preliminary 48-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but didn’t make the final roster. This season, Nico has been simply phenomenal for Real Madrid U-19 in the UEFA Youth League – he scored 5 goals in 5 games and was definitely one of the best players in the team full of exciting talents such as Iker Bravo, Pol Fortuny, Vinícius Tobias, Manuel Ángel, César Palacios, Rafael Obrador, Julen Jon Guerrero, and Gonzalo García.

Quotes:

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Football Talent Scout potential rating:

9/10