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Sky Sports journalist: Pau Torres transfer may hint at tactical changes at Aston Villa
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Paul Torres’ move to Aston Villa may hint at Unai Emery’s tactical and positional changes for the club next season, according to Dan Bardell.
Torres’ signing to Villa Park [Fabrizio Romano] will likely see him as a first-choice centre-back. However, the club currently have no right-back signings on their radar, which could imply that players may be subject to some positional changes in Unai Emery’s side.
After the club announced that right-back option Ashley Young had left following the expiration of his contract, Emery will be thin in this position unless reinforcements are brought in.
However, Bardell suggests that centre-back options may shift to right-back. The Spanish boss has a history of tucking in his right-backs, which may be further replicated next season.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “Mings has had a new contract too, so I’m imagining that [him and Torres] will play together even though they’re both left-footed, which I don’t have a problem with.
“If two right-footers play together, no one really says anything. But when it’s two left-footers it’s seen as this big weird thing that can’t happen. But Emery will make that work.
“At the moment there’s not really any huge link to a right-back, and they’ve lost Ashley Young. So this might be a signal that Ezri Konsa might take on the Juan Foyth role in some games, being a centre-back playing right-back.
“We know Emery likes using his right-backs tucking in which is what Matty Cash and Young were doing and what Foyth did at Villarreal.
“We saw it at Wolves away, where Diego Carlos came on and Konsa shifted across to right-back. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a plan in certain games in Europe to play Konsa and utilise him as a right-back. Then Mings and Torres, or Carlos and Torres, can come in and play centre-back.“