Yohan Djourou says Arsenal’s rumoured transfer interest in Barcelona forward, Ferran Torres, is ‘interesting’, as Mikel Arteta aims to bring in cover for the injured Gabriel Jesus during the January transfer window.
The former Arsenal player did raise doubt that Torres, who worked with Arteta at Manchester City prior to moving to the Nou Camp last January, hasn’t really cut it at Barcelona, nor did he show much during his time in the Premier League, as he told talkSPORT.
The Spanish giants paid £46.3 million for his talents (Sky Sports) and he has scored 12 goals in 44 matches, four fewer than he managed under Pep Guardiola from 43 games.
Whilst Torres isn’t standing out like a sore thumb, the three significant factors here are that he is a player of Jesus’ ilk, he has tasted Premier League football before and Arteta knows his game inside and out.
Despite that, Djourou thinks Arteta faces a difficult task in replacing his summer signing, who was injured at the World Cup with Brazil and no time frame given for a possible return.
“Mikel Arteta knows better [than me] what he needs and what he can do with the resources they have, but definitely Gabriel Jesus is a massive loss for them,” said Djourou.
“I think that the energy he brings to the team, even if he wasn’t scoring goals, just the fact he’s pressuring other teams makes him special. And it’s hard to find another player like that.
“The better players are Erling Haaland who is at Manchester City, and a player like Julian Alvarez who is with City as well, so it’s hard to find players who fit with the system and who know Arteta.
“A player like Ferran Torres at Barcelona? That could be interesting. But I don’t feel that Ferran has shown enough in the Premier League, or at Barcelona either.”
ARSENAL INTERESTED IN TORRES
As soon as Jesus was out of surgery, Arsenal would have been drawing up plans to try and cover for their star man’s injury – and Arsenal, alongside their north London rivals Tottenham, are looking at signing Torres.
The interesting thing here is that it could have been argued Arsenal needed another forward, prior to Jesus’ injury, to bulk up their squad ahead of a Premier League title push.
Perhaps those names will be brought to the forefront, or will they look at players they wanted last January when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was booted out, Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic, for instance?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
