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Aston Villa step closer to 'elite' tier as Fabrizio Romano shares 'huge' Pau Torres transfer news
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Aston Villa will take a step closer to being an “elite” club if they sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres ahead of Bayern Munich, according to Alan Hutton.
Torres, 26, has been linked with a move to Villa Park for some time due to the fact he worked with Villa manager Unai Emery at Villarreal, winning the Europa League together.
The Daily Mail reported on 26 June that the Villans are trying to strike a bargain deal for the Spain centre-back, who they believe they can sign for £35million instead of his £55.5million release clause.
However, Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday (27 June) that while Aston Villa are pushing to sign Torres, Bayern Munich are monitoring developments.
It is understood that the Bundesliga champions are looking at Torres as a possible replacement for PSG-bound Lucas Hernandez.
Hutton wants to see Emery come out on top in the race to sign Torres and believes it’ll be a statement of intent from his former club if they were to do that.
“It would be huge,” Hutton told Villa News when asked about Villa’s transfer race with Bayern Munich.
“This is an outstanding football player. He’s not even in his prime yet so he’s only going to get even better.
“He knows the manager and I don’t think money would be an issue. The owners are going to back the manager moving forward so you can see the progression already in the time Emery’s been at the club. He’s got them into Europe after fighting relegation, which is quite incredible.
“He’ll be looking to kick on again and this is the direction the club wants to be moving in.
“If they can get in people like Torres, who’s very highly thought of, that gives you that stepping stone into that elite bracket. That’s where Aston Villa want to be. You can’t stand still, you need to move forward and to do that, you need the right players.”
In other Aston Villa news, big-name signings are now on the cards after a behind-the-scenes arrival at Villa Park.