Pau Torres has been on the radar for many English and Spanish clubs for quite a while now, but they have been put off by Villarreal’s valuation of the centre-back. If reports by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano are to be believed, Tottenham Hotspur will push to sign the defender to strengthen Antonio Conte’s push for a top-four finish.
“Let’s see what happens with a centre-back. Tottenham want to sign a new centre-back in January. Pau Torres has always been on their list since last summer, but Villarreal has no intention to let him leave in January.”
Romano said (as quoted by HITC).
Former Chelsea manager Conte took over from Nuno Espirito Sanchez in November 2021, and has produced some impressive results in a short space of time. Although the club got knocked out of the Carabao Cup semi-final, there is enough evidence to suggest that the club are moving in a positive direction and need a little more strengthening in some areas.
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Conte, who prefers to play a flexible back-three with wing-backs operating higher up the pitch, is currently working his way around with options like Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rondon, but adding the injury concerns to it, he doesn’t feel there is enough bench strength to compete against the best in this league.
Pau Torres has come up through the Villarreal academy and has made 112 senior appearances in a short space of time. He also won the trust of Spanish national team boss Luis Enrique, featuring in the Euro 2020. The club are looking at a fee in excess of 50 million euros for the left-footed centre-back, but not a lot of suitors are willing to meet it.
It was reported during the recent summer window that club director Fabio Paratici had negotiated a 42.7 million pound fee to sign the player, but the player snubbed the move to play Champions League football with the Yellow Submarine.
Although he is not likely to leave the club in the winter window, if the clubs are willing to match the requested fee, there is every possibility of him entering the Premier League.
