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Medical scheduled: Pau Torres to sign five-year Aston Villa contract - Fabrizio Romano
Aston Villa are set to seal the signature of Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres, with a medical scheduled for the Spaniard, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Reporting on Twitter, Romano stated that Unai Emery’s side will pay just over £30million for the Spanish international in a deal that could rise to just shy of £35million with add-ons included.
The West Midland side did not have to meet the 26-year-old’s ‘ £51.6million release clause, with his 5-year contract running until 2028.
Sensational business
Aston Villa fans will be in dreamland.
Torres is one of the most exciting and skilled centre-backs on the market and with a relatively small price tag, Villa have done some fantastic business.
Negotiating such a low fee was superb from Villa, as the nearly £52million they would have had to pay will have been worth it for a defender of this quality, profile and age.
Emery’s pull at the club will have done a lot of work here also. Under the guide of the current Villa manager, Torres lifted the 2021 Europa League with Villarreal and will now link back up with his old manager as Aston Villa themselves have a go at European success next season.
Torres will likely take Villa’s defence to the next level and will naturally suit Emery’s style. He is a ball-carrying centre-back and one of the best in Europe. He is in the 99th percentile for progressive carries among centre-backs with 2.24 per 90 [FBRef].
Just as impressively, his 5.81 progressive passes put him in the 96th percentile for this metric, showing just how influential he can be in Villa’s future build-up play.
You could pick any of Torres’ stats and it will likely reflect his defensive and ball-playing excellence, while his elite distribution will make him yet another threat in a steadily improving Emery side.
The World Cup quarterfinalist will certainly slip straight into Villa’s defence as he is a vast improvement on current pairing Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, who themselves have excellent attributes.
With world-class signings like this, as well as Youri Tielemans on a free transfer earlier in the window, Aston Villa may just make a habit of qualifying for Europe.
If they keep bringing in Champions League-level players, a spot in the Premier League top four could just be around the corner.
In other Aston Villa news, Besiktas submit near £7million loan-to-buy bid for midfielder.