According to Graeme Bailey via TBR, Arsenal and Aston Villa are both keen on acquiring the services of Ferran Torres, who has had an impressive season at Barcelona. Mikel Arteta is a massive admirer of the Spanish forward and would love to have him in his squad. But Unai Emery also likes him and has asked Villa to push for his signature.
Torres made a name for himself at Valencia and earned a move to Manchester City in the summer of 2020. While things didn’t work out for him at the Premier League club, everyone was well aware of the massive potential he had.
Barcelona put forward an offer worth £46.7 million to sign him at the start of 2022. While the early years weren’t easy for the 25-year-old, he is now thriving under Hansi Flick, even though he has mostly served as a backup for Robert Lewandowski.
He has only started 19 games all season long but he has been involved in a total of 45 fixtures and has contributed towards 26 goals (19 goals, 7 assists). The kind of impact he has had in just over 1,900 minutes of first-team action has caught the attention of quite a few top clubs.
Arsenal and Aston Villa are two clubs that are very keen on signing the Spanish international. Mikel Arteta knows the 25-year-old from his time at City and believes he could be an ideal fit in his system. The Gunners are desperately looking for a new striker and he can be the one who could solve quite a few of their problems up top.
While his time at City didn’t go according to plan, he has showcased what he can do with his performances at Barcelona. The North London club are quite serious about their pursuit but Villa are ready to rival them in the race for his signature.
The Birmingham-based club have a long-standing interest in him and their manager Unai Emery is a massive admirer of the Spanish forward. He wants Villa to push hard for his signature. They have taken giant strides under Emery and can certainly be an attractive option for the youngster.
While speaking about Torres’s future, Graeme Bailey said: “Firstly with Ferran Torres’ situation — Mikel Arteta loves Torres from his time at City and he knows how City highly rated him. Arteta knows what Torres could bring to Arsenal but he’s not the only manager who likes him.”
“Villa like Torres and so does Unai Emery.”
While both English clubs are keen on signing him and could offer him a much bigger role than the one he has at Barcelona, the 25-year-old doesn’t really seem to be interested in leaving the Catalan giants anytime soon. He still has over two years left on his deal and is enjoying life at the Spanish club.
Bailey went on to add: “But my information is that Torres still has no intention of leaving Barcelona. Hansi Flick has used him quite a bit this season but even when he hasn’t been playing in the past, he didn’t want to leave Barcelona.”
“Now he’s 25-years-old, he’s still getting in the Spain team and he’s played over 25 La Liga games this season, half from the bench, half starting.”
“Villa do like him — there’s no denying that. So if he was on the market a handful of Premier League clubs want him but from my information that he has no intention of leaving Barcelona.”
If Torres is made available, there could be a bidding war between Arsenal and Villa. But for now, he is happy to continue at Barcelona. As a result, both clubs might have to look at other options as they look to add more quality to their attack.
