Aston Villa reportedly remain keen on Villarreal defender Pau Torres, but Bayern Munich are also said to be monitoring his future this summer.
The 26-year-old had another strong season last year, making 39 appearances for the La Liga side across all competitions, while he has now earned 23 caps for Spain.
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Having established himself as one of the leading defensive talents in Europe, question marks have been raised over his future at Villarreal given his current contract expires in June 2024.
That in turn has led to speculation linking us with a swoop to bolster our defensive options this summer, with Unai Emery expected to significantly strengthen his squad in the coming weeks and months as we prepare for a big campaign next season.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Villa ‘remain keen’ on signing the Spanish international, with Emery said to be a ‘big fan’ of his having previously worked together prior to his move to join us last year.
However, it’s added that Bayern are now keeping tabs on the situation and the conditions to try and sign Torres, and so it remains to be seen if we’re left disappointed in our touted pursuit.
It will be difficult to compete given Bayern’s ability to offer the opportunity of winning immediate silverware and playing in the Champions League, but there is little doubt over the ambition Villa have moving forward and the squad that we’re building led by Emery.
It’s hoped that’s enough to secure an agreement with both Villarreal and Torres to get a deal done, which in turn will add significant competition and depth in the centre-half positions along with Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos and raise the level in that department.
This isn’t the first time Villa have been paired with an interest in Torres, with Cadena Ser reporting earlier this month that we had formalised our offer and the player was considering his options before making a big decision on his future.
Villa will hope for an answer sooner rather than later, but if it’s a positive one that leads to us signing Torres, it will be another brilliant piece of business to follow up the arrival of Youri Tielemans on July 1.