Krishnan Sreekumar
Fabrizio Romano reveals Premier League transfer battle for Manchester United target and Villarreal defender Pau Torres
According to football journalist, Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Manchester United will need to battle rivals Manchester City and Chelsea to secure the services of Villarreal defender Pau Torres in the upcoming summer transfer window.
United are quite familiar with Torres, who they faced in the final of the UEFA Europa League last season. The defender played the entire 120 minutes of the match, and even dispatched his spot-kick in the penalty shootout, earning his side a nervy win to win the competition against the English team.
The Spaniard showed the Red Devils just what he is capable of, managing to keep the likes of Edinson Cavani, Bruno Fernandes, and Marcus Rashford quiet in the summit clash as he helped his boyhood team earn a European title.
He has been impressive in the current campaign, performing admirably in La Liga as well as in the Champions League, where Villarreal have progressed to the semi-finals of the tournament after knocking out Bayern Munich.
Heavy interest from Premier League
His defensive displays on the pitch have seen him attract interest from the Premier League, with Romano revealing that both Manchester clubs are interested in his signature in the summer. Chelsea are also said to be keen on the 25-year-old, sending their scouts to watch him in action and determine whether he is worth the hype.
Any club looking to sign him ahead of the new season will have to match his release clause, which is estimated to be around €55/60m. This clause is said to be valid at the end of the campaign, and available until the end of the summer transfer window.
Torres has played for Villarreal his entire senior career, coming through the ranks as a youngster in the youth teams. Barring a loan spell at Malaga, the Yellow Submarines is all that the defender has known in his playing career.
Evidently, he has vast experience playing in Spain, but over the past couple of years, he has proven that he is capable of excelling in Europe as well, playing in the Europa League and Champions League under Unai Emery.
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There may be doubts about his ability to move away from home and adapt to a competition like the Premier League, which takes no prisoners if a player is unable to cope with the physicality and fast-paced nature of the game in England.
However, his exploits in Europe and experience playing for the Spain national team has shown that he can mould and change his game to what the situation demands, and this could prove to be a good sign for United, who will be desperate to sign a player like Torres in order to upgrade their weak rearguard.
