Aston Villa want £21.3m loan-to-buy deal for Ferran Torres due to Financial Fair Play
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…
Ferran Torres’ versatility would make him an excellent fit at Aston Villa while Barcelona’s financial struggles may help facilitate a move for the Spaniard, according to Dan Bardell.
Amid links to a move to Villa Park and reported talks of a loan move for the 23-year-old [Mundo Deportivo], the former Manchester City forward could be set for a move away from Camp Nou after joining last year.
Torres’ prominence in Xavi’s Barcelona side has dwindled over the last few months and often made cameos from the bench, so a move away for more game time could appeal to the Spain international, despite him expressing a desire to stay [Mundo Deportivo].
It is understood that Villa are considering a loan-to-buy bid worth £21.3million and Bardell claims Torres would be a quality addition to Emery’s squad.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “When it looked like Mateu Alemany was going to come in as the sporting director, I would have said that Torres would’ve been on the cards. He’d been involved in a couple of moves with Alemany.
“He ticks a few boxes in that he’s multi-functional, he’s played as a centre-forward and a wide player. If you look at the players next to Ollie Watkins under Emery so far, it’s never been another natural striker. It’s always been Emi Buendía or John McGinn at the end of the season.
“Torres would be very good in that role, he’ll be useful. Barcelona are going to need to shift some bodies, the way their finances are. They’re not really going to be able to improve their squad unless they sell. They always have that worry about registering players as well.
“Torres would be the type of signing I would like because you’d expect Villa to do a fair bit of shopping in La Liga. But Torres has experience in the Premier League. He wanted to leave Manchester City, but I thought he’s just found his feet, so it was a little bit of a shame.
“He started to score goals at a time when Manchester City didn’t really have a striker. He played a few games in that position and he scored a few goals.
“It would be a great signing for Villa to get him in, but personally I’m not sure how concrete the interest is. There was mention of a loan move with a view to making it permanent.
“Perhaps with Financial Fair Play Villa may have to defer the payment for a year and take them on loan, but I’d imagine Barcelona would want a permanent move because of their financial trouble.“