Premier League giants Arsenal need a new centre-back but will Mikel Arteta’s side raid La Liga outfit Villarreal to bring Pau Torres to the Emirates?
Villarreal defender Pau Torres has admitted that he is learning English amid speculation linking him with a summer move to Arsenal, speaking to El Periodico Mediterraneo.
A 23-year-old centre-half was enduring something of a dream season before the global health crisis put the La Liga campaign on pause. Torres has gone from academy graduate to the Spanish national team in the blinking of an eye while, after just 23 starts in Villarreal colours, he has already been voted by fans into the club’s all-time greatest XI.
Some achievement, really.
The chances of Torres staying on the Castellon coast and adding to his legend look slim however with a £45 million release clause putting him in the grasp of some of Europe’s top clubs. The Sun reported that Arsenal are interested and it seems that this is not just paper talk.
None other than Santi Cazorla, Torres’ Villareal team-mate and a former Gunners favourite, admitted to Marca recently that Arsenal have indeed been in touch to enquire about the fresh-faced centre-half.
And the North London giants will no doubt be intrigued to learn how Torres is spending his days in lockdown.
“In the morning I do the training regime and then I do the food following the guidelines established by the club. In the afternoon, after lunch, I study a few languages because I was learning English and now is a good time to resume it,” Torres says.
According to La Razon, the 6ft 3ins stopper is officially the quickest centre-back in La Liga right now. His arrival would give Mikel Arteta the option of deploying a higher defensive line and push up from the back in a manner not too dissimilar to his former employers Manchester City.
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