Julian Ward, pay whatever it takes to sign Liverpool the next Leo Messi, £160m is a steal

Julian Ward, we're begging you. Sign Liverpool the next Lionel Messi, no matter what it takes.

Liverpool have had a philosophy over the last few transfer windows. They should sign the best players available to them, regardless of their actual position, and then make things work with what they've got.

The idea is to maximise talent in the squad, instead of maximising 'fit', as was the strategy under Jürgen Klopp. Klopp would prefer not to sign someone unless there was a clear place in the team for them.

That hasn't been the case over the last couple of summers. Liverpool signed two near-identical strikers in 2025 with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké not being obvious striker partners.

Then things moved up a gear in 2026 as the Reds built a squad with four left-wingers, no right-wingers, and a selection of midfielders who all largely do the same thing. Some would argue this is suboptimal.

But if that's the strategy then that's the strategy and we say go all in.

Will there be a next Lionel Messi? Probably not in terms of skill and impact. But then they said that about Diego Maradona until Messi came along.

Regardless, the Inter Miami star has now stepped away from the Argentina national team and that means a successor has to take up his number 10 shirt. Argentina are delaying that decision for this international break - no one will wear it while they decide who deserves it.

The most likely successor? Nico Paz. Paz is the next-big-thing from Argentina, even if he's not actually from there. He was born in Tenerife, though his dad, former Argentina international Pablo Paz, clearly held some sway here.

That decision to play for Argentina means they've now got the most exciting young talent in football on their books. Maybe Lamine Yamal still has something to say about that, but Paz has been absolutely ridiculous this season and looks set to explode to another level.

Now, we somewhat saw that coming as our Value Adder model has long held Paz as one of the most outstanding players in football. He's a threat with and without the ball, in and out of possession, and through goals and assists.

There aren't many like him and we view him as the next great star for Liverpool. Unfortunately, his form this season means everyone is catching up to that.

There is a problem with signing him, however. Fabrizio Romano has yet again pointed out that Real Madrid hold a buyback clause for Paz, sitting at around €80m next summer. They will almost certainly activate this.

The trick to signing Paz, then, is to convince Real Madrid to cash-in. Maybe that means paying twice that clause to sign him or some other ridiculous number, because Los Blancos don't technically need him.

They've got a wealth of attacking midfielders and goalscorers. We certainly can't see them playing through Paz as Como have, not when the likes of Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham are already there.

So there is a chance here to land a sensational player. You've just got to convince Real Madrid and that will only happen with an enormous offer. But we implore Julian Ward to make it. Paz is generational and almost certainly Messi's successor with Argentina.

And we would just love him at Liverpool.