Aston Villa have reportedly reached an agreement to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres, with personal terms also already in place.
Villa are set to officially announce the signing of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer on July 1, and it appears as though Unai Emery will swiftly follow that with a second addition to bolster his squad.
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Speculation has linked us with an interest in Torres for weeks, and now the 26-year-old centre-half appears to be on the verge of securing a reunion with his former boss.
As per The Athletic, Villa have agreed a deal with Villarreal to sign Torres, and the Spanish international is said to have already reached an agreement on personal terms too.
Figures have yet to be disclosed and so it will be interesting to see what transfer fee was deemed enough to green light the move with Torres having only a year remaining on his contract, but it appears as though Emery is set to land his top defensive target.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa will pay ‘way less than the release clause’, which stood at €65m.
That will add significant competition in defence alongside Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos, but that is exactly what Emery wants in terms of improving where possible, as he looks to ensure we become increasingly competitive across multiple fronts.
While it will present the Spanish tactician with a selection headache, it’s certainly a good one to have as we target silverware next season along with a deep European run, as well as further progression in the Premier League after our seventh-place finish last season.
Torres will add defensive solidity, composure and technical ability to our backline, should the deal go through now as expected, and it will undoubtedly help Emery continue to implement and establish his preferred style of play which starts from the back.
It’s a significant coup for Villa given the quality that Torres possesses along with the experience that he has gained at both club and international level, and so there is rightly a lot of excitement surrounding this addition and the direction in which Villa are now moving to try and compete at the top level.
