Aston Villa: NSWE reach “agreement” to sign Pau Torres
The Villarreal defender already holds a connection to Unai Emery from during their time together in La Liga.
Aston Villa have reached an “agreement” to bring Villarreal defender Pau Torres to the Premier League, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
Is Pau Torres joining Aston Villa?
Quique Setien’s academy graduate will be out of contract at the end of next season meaning that the ongoing transfer window is his club’s final opportunity to cash in should they not want to lose him for free, and 90min have claimed that he’s told them that he’s ready to leave.
The Yellow Submarines centre-back has reportedly been made a top target by the Midlands outfit with Unai Emery a “big fan” of the 26-year-old having managed him for 105 appearances during his time in his homeland.
The La Ligay star’s deal has a £55m release clause included but Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that NSWE and Monchi will pa “way less” than that, and if the following update is anything to go by, the conditions of the deal have already been addressed.
Taking to Twitter, Ornstein revealed that Aston Villa have finalised a deal for Torres with the defender having given the green-light to complete a summer move to the Midlands. He wrote:
“Aston Villa have now reached an agreement with Villarreal to sign centre-back Pau Torres. Personal terms are also in place for 26yo Spain international defender to join in what’s another big coup for #AVFC + manager Unai Emery.”
Is Torres a good signing for Villa?
Aston Villa will already be aware of what Torres is capable of due to Emery’s existing connection to the centre-back, and having also been dubbed an “extraordinary talent” by his former coach Javier Calleja, he would be a fantastic acquisition for the boss.
The Spain international averaged 4.1 clearances, 1.7 aerial wins and 1.3 tackles per league game last season, via WhoScored, so is a real rock at the heart of the backline, but he also likes to push his team as high up the pitch as possible having ranked in the 99th percentile for most progressive carries by centre-backs.
Torres, who stands at a staggering 6 foot 2, also knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the level that the Villans are looking to achieve having previously won the Europa League back in 2020/21, so he could inspire the rest of the squad to give it their all on the bigger stage next season in their first campaign in the Conference League.
