Behind-the-scenes link at Aston Villa secures Pau Torres deal as honeymoon update shared by Fabrizio Romano
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…
Unai Emery’s working relationship with Monchi has been a “big factor” in Aston Villa’s bid to sign Pau Torres from Villarreal, according to Alan Hutton.
Torres, 26, is due to sign for the Villans in the coming days with Fabrizio Romano reporting on 5 July that the Spain defender is currently on his honeymoon with his wife.
It is understood that once his break is over, he’ll head to the West Midlands to undergo a medical at Villa Park.
Monchi officially joined Villa as their president of football operations earlier this month after previously working with Emery at Sevilla.
Hutton believes that Monchi would have had a massive headstart at Villa Park because of his understanding with Emery and that was pivotal in striking what seems to be a major coup to sign Torres.
Speaking to Villa News about the behind-the-scenes link-up between Emery and Monchi, Hutton said: “It’s definitely going to be helpful, especially when they’re revisiting teams and players that they know inside and out.
“It always helps to know what the manager is going to expect from you, how his team is going to look moving forward, and the progress that’s going to make.
“Monchi will have understood a lot of things before he walked through the door, even if he didn’t know any players.
“It definitely helps to have that connection and it’s probably a big factor in why, if the deal is done, Torres chose Aston Villa.”
Torres played for Emery at Villarreal, winning the Europa League with him in 2020/21.
In other Aston Villa news, the Villans have been tipped to sign this international captain with a “strange” clause in his contract.