Aston Villa are looking to agree on a potential cut-price deal with Villarreal for their star centre-back Pau Torres this summer, according to a report.
The 26-year-old has 12 months left on his contract and he is expected to leave, with Unai Emery keen to re-unite with his former player at Villa Park, as reported by The Daily Mail.
It has been claimed that Pau Torres has a buyout clause of £55.5 million, but those in B6 aren’t keen on putting that type of money down for the player and they are, instead, trying to seal a £35 million ‘bargain’ deal.
Villa signing Torres this summer is amazing enough, but possibly securing his signature for less than £20 million of what is in his contract would be pretty special.
This is where fans will be hoping Emery can work his magic and try to persuade the Spain international to the Midlands, but new man Monchi will also have to showcase his money’s worth after he joined from Sevilla.
Either way, these next few weeks could become very, very interesting as Monchi gets warm in his seat and Villa look to elevate their defence to even higher levels.
Torres walks into the Villa team
Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa have been outstanding under Emery and it will be harsh if either one of them has to sit on the bench next season.
But if this Torres deal gets done, then one of them will have to face that reality because the one-time Europa League winner is a cut above what Villa have at their disposal.
Former captain Mings, the ice-cool Konsa, the previously injury-struck Diego Carlos and the mainly-benched Calum Chambers are the centre-backs Emery can pick from.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Chambers leave because he couldn’t even earn starts under Steven Gerrard and that has since continued under Emery.
As for Mings, Konsa and Carlos. Those three should stay on board, and if that top-class centre-back can arrive, then that’s one area of the pitch that is sorted ahead of next season.
Either way, fingers crossed that this Torres deal gets done because it would be a serious, serious coup from the club.
