Aston Villa have officially announced the signing of defender Pau Torres from Villarreal for an undisclosed fee.
After Youri Tielemans was finally unveiled on July 1 as our first new recruit of the summer having joined on a free transfer, Villa have moved to follow that up with another key addition to Unai Emery’s squad.
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As per the club’s statement, Torres has finally now arrived from Villarreal, while Fabrizio Romano has previously reported that the deal is worth an initial €32.5m, plus €5m in add-ons.
Speculation has been intense for weeks regarding our interest in Torres, and so Emery was evidently keen on a reunion with the Spanish international as he bolsters his defensive options significantly.
With his experience at both club and international level, coupled with his defensive solidity and technical ability to fit into Emery’s system and style of play perfectly, it’s an important signing for the club both on and off the pitch, as it’s a real statement of intent too.
Time will tell what the impact of the Spaniard’s arrival is in terms of who he might displace in the Villa XI, but healthy competition for places and depth will be needed right across the squad if we have a genuine desire to compete at the very top and compete for silverware on a consistent basis.
Emery has made no secret of his desire to bring trophies to the club, and while he’ll target success in the domestic cup competitions next season, he’ll also have a clear vision of further success in Europe through the Europa Conference League.
In turn, Tyrone Mings, Diego Carlos and Ezri Konsa will face a real battle amongst themselves along with Torres to earn a starting berth under the Villa boss, and it’s hoped that we continue to strengthen the squad with similar quality as Emery has insisted from the day he arrived that he will only add new players who significantly improve what he already has available.
Pau Torres ✅
Monchi ✅
The Boss ✅😍 🇪🇸🟣🔵#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/sY7vFQmNPJ
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) July 12, 2023
