Aston Villa are reportedly pushing to try and secure a deal to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres this summer with contact between the parties ongoing.
The 26-year-old came through the youth ranks at Villarreal and has gone on to establish himself as a key figure for the club having made 173 appearances across all competitions.
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With 23 caps for Spain to his name too, Torres is widely regarded as one of the top centre-halves in Europe, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that Unai Emery wants to strengthen his defensive options this summer, and ideally wants a reunion with his compatriot.
According to AS, there is a firm offer from Villa on the table for Torres, and although negotiations aren’t at an advanced stage yet, it’s suggested that discussions are ongoing and the expectation is that a move to join us is becoming the most likely outcome, particularly in the absence of movement from Bayern Munich.
However, it’s important to reiterate the point that no agreement has been reached between the two clubs as of yet either, and with AS noting that Torres has a €65m release clause in his current contract, that could still be a major stumbling block, especially given he only has 12 months remaining on his current deal.
In turn, while the Spanish publication paints a positive picture of the situation in terms of our hopes of signing Torres, there is still work to be done to convince both the player and Villarreal.
As reported by The Daily Mail, Villa are trying to secure a deal for around £35m, and so it remains to be seen if that’s enough to convince Villarreal to green light an exit, particularly if the player wishes to move on.
That would seem a much fairer valuation given his contract situation, but time will tell if Villarreal see it that way too as they’ll want a significant fee for their prized asset, while Villa look to bring in elite competition to raise the level within Emery’s squad again ahead of next season.
While Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa impressed last year, and with Diego Carlos returning from injury, we have three top options in that department moving forward. However, with our potentially hectic fixture schedule in the upcoming campaign coupled with the need to keep pushing everyone to improve, Torres would be a brilliant addition if an agreement can be reached.
