Pau Torres has been in sensational form for Villareal this season (Getty Images)
According to a report by The Athletic (Subscription Required) [h/t football.london], Chelsea are looking at Villarreal’s Pau Torres as a transfer target. The Spanish defender is linked with the Blues in case other options fall through for them.
The Blues have been linked with a number of central defenders recently as they look to shore up their defence even further after their UEFA Champions League title win. Sevilla star Jules Kounde and Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix are two such names linked with the club. But here, we will see why pursuing a move for Torres makes sense for the Blues.
As compared to the other options Chelsea are linked with, Torres’ release clause of £43million looks reasonable. Compared to that, Kounde’s valuation stands at over £60million. There is also the fact that world-class defenders don’t come cheap anymore. In this day and age, clubs are prepared to break their bank for a top defender.
United paid an eye-watering £80million for Harry Maguire while Chelsea themselves once sold David Luiz for £50million all the way back in 2014. In that regard, the Blues would be paying a reasonable amount for a young defender who has his best years still in front of him. He can very well repay that amount with many years of service at Stamford Bridge.
Torres was highly impressive this season for Villarreal. This is the reason why a Premier League club like Chelsea started to pay close attention to him as his team finished top 7 for the second time in a row since his move from Malaga in 2019. Before that, they finished the 2018/19 season in 14th.
Unai Emery, his manager at Villarreal, has been deeply impressed by him. Talking to Football.london, the Spanish manager said that he has never seen a defender like Torres in his entire managerial career and that the defender would be playing at the highest level in the years to come. He already has 7 senior caps for Spain.
“I’ve been a coach in Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and I’ve never seen a centre back like Pau Torres. I think he’s going to play at the highest level, he’s playing now in the national team but he can play in the top teams in Europe very soon.
I’ve been a coach in Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and I’ve never seen a centre back like Pau Torres. I think he’s going to play at the highest level, he’s playing now in the national team but he can play in the top teams in Europe very soon.”
Chelsea’s defence has been stellar ever since Thomas Tuchel took over. This has come with Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma, and Cesar Azpilicueta rotating as centre-backs in a back-three system. That is different to the two-man defensive pairing that Lampard played. But to keep this going, they need to make sure they supplement their squad in that area.
This means Tuchel has to play one more centre-back each game, thus increasing the need for depth in that area. Thiago Silva will turn 37 this year and cannot keep playing forever.
Signing Torres would provide some much-needed cover and competition for the Blues there. Also, Azpilicueta can even cover for Reece James at right-back more often if Pau Torres starts playing at centre-back.
