Transfer News: Manchester United held initial talks with Villarreal for Pau Torres
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United have held initial talks with Villarreal regarding a potential transfer for Pau Torres this summer. The former is looking to strengthen their backline ahead of the next season in an attempt to back the incoming manager Erik ten Hag.
Man United want to bring in a centre-back to their ranks in the summer transfer window. As such, they have maintained their interest in signing Torres and have discussed his signing internally with ten Hag. Furthermore, they have also made preliminary contact with Unai Emery’s side to gauge the possibility of a move.
Torres has a contract at Estadio de la Ceramica until 2024, which also included a release clause worth around €60million. Moreover, the Spanish club prioritises a straight cash deal for the central defender, which could be an issue for the Red Devils if they had plans to include players in exchange to drive down the cost.
Can Man Utd sign Torres?
Reinforcing the defence should be one of the areas where the Manchester club should be focusing their efforts this summer. After all, the poor defensive set-up has often caused issues at times, even if the issues in midfield did play a part in our struggles at the back.
The likes of Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof have either been inconsistent, poor or underperformed throughout the current campaign. Even if Phil Jones made a solid return to action, it would be best if we look to move him on at the end of this season.
As for Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe, the Mancunians already have plans for the centre-half duo this summer. They want to sell both of them after this term which would free up spots in the backline and the wage bill and even earn them a solid fee which could be used to meet the expense required to sign Torres.
It remains to be seen whether we will get further updates on this matter regarding the outcomes of the talks held with the La Liga side and ten Hag. One would expect the boss to give his approval for this transfer since Torres has played a major role in Villarreal and Spain’s rise in recent years.
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As for the early negotiations with the Yellow Submarines, the fans would hope that they are willing to discuss a fee less than the release clause. Even if that price can be fair, it would be best if the board could cut down costs as much as possible since they have to bolster other areas of the team as well.
Only time will give us an answer to whether Torres would move to Carrington or not moving forward. Then again, that would depend on if ten Hag believes the defender suits his tactics which we have to see in the coming weeks.
