Aston Villa are one of a number of Premier League clubs that have been credited with interest for a £30 million player.
Unai Emery and Monchi have a big job on their hands this summer as they look to build a squad capable of competing in the Champions League.
It will not be easy for Aston Villa as they have to navigate the challenges associated with Premier League profit and sustainability regulations (PSR), meaning they may have to sell one or two high-profile players.
The fact that Jhon Duran and Douglas Luiz are heavily linked with imminent departures is evidence of the need to raise funds quickly, however once they have balanced the books Villa can focus on additions who can improve the side.
It looks as though they have identified a player who could do just that, with latest reports suggesting they could make a move for a Barcelona winger.
Aston Villa ‘interested’ in Barcelona’s Ferran Torres
Villa are targeting both quality and depth ahead of a season in which they will look to maintain their Premier League progression whilst competing continentally.
Emery has a lot of quality in the final third with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby, Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers, but needs more options.
Ferran Torres is a player who can player on either flank, as well as up front, and it is therefore no surprise to see Villa eyeing up a move for the Spain international.
According to the Sunday Express (p.66), Barcelona are looking to raise funds to sign Joao Cancelo permanently and could offload Ferran Torres in order to facilitate a move.
The Catalan giants reportedly value Torres at around £30 million and Villa have been name-checked as one of a quartet of Premier League clubs on ‘standby’.
As well as Villa, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are all said to be interested in a move; all of whom will look to compete with Villa for European football next season.
Torres has Pep Guardiola seal of approval
If any of those clubs were to sign Torres, they would be purchasing a player who has experience of the Premier League.
Manchester City paid Valencia £20.8 million to bring the Spaniard to England in August 2020 but reluctantly sold him to Barcelona just two years later for a profit of around £28 million with the player wanting a return to his homeland.
City boss Pep Guardiola was a fan of Torres and tried to reinvent him as a floating striker in his ‘false nine’ system and was full of praise for the player after he scored a hat-trick against Newcastle in May 2021.
Speaking after the 4-3 win, Guardiola said: “Not just this evening, of course this evening was important, but his first season in England and his numbers are exceptional.
“He came as a winger, but he has to think about (being) a striker. When Sergio [Aguero], Gabriel [Jesus] were out, he was there. He scored against Leeds and Crystal Palace. He didn’t have many minutes, but when he played, he had a sense of goal.
“Yeah, he can be [a No 9]. We will use him, we used him and he was brilliant. His rhythm, especially defensively he has improved a lot. The game at Palace, he makes a turn [in his season] – so good. The movement he makes as a striker, for the [third] goal, it hits the bar and where it goes, he knew it.
“The smell, the strikers know, intuitively where it will arrive. He has this talent and the first goal is fantastic. Very pleased.”
With the ability to play as the winger on either side or the support striker in Emery’s system, £30 million for Torres could prove to be really good business for a player who could help elevate the side to the next level.
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