Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Real Madrid is closely following former talent Nico Paz, who left club for Como last summer.
Paz was 12 when he left home on the island of Tenerife to join the ranks of Madrid's academy and made eight first-team appearances last season, also splitting time with the Castilla side.
But the chance for him to play regular football in Italy came at the end of the summer transfer window, moving to newly promoted Como.
Madrid cashed in for a reported €6 million but is believed to have retained a buy-back clause, which is a common tactic when allowing young players to leave.
“We follow it a lot” Ancelotti told Italian media this week, with the boss hinting that Madrid have every intention of activating the buyback clause at some stage.
“I think this year of training outside Real Madrid will be very good for him. He is a player who we think will be the future of Real Madrid.”
Reports suggest that picking up the option to buy at the end of this season will cost Madrid just €9 million. This amount will then increase annually, to 10 million euros in 2026 and 11 million euros in 2027.
Ahead of last season, Madrid used a €5m buy-back clause to re-sign left-back Fran Garcia, two years after selling him to Rayo Vallecano. He has made 51 appearances in the 18 months since then.
In 2016, Madrid triggered Alvaro Morata's buyout clause to re-sign the forward from Juventus, paying €30m two years after selling him for €20m. He stayed in the Spanish capital for just one season, before the club doubled their money in a €65m sale to Chelsea in 2017.