Name: Pau Torres
Club: Villarreal
Date of Birth: 16 January 1997
Position: Centre-back
PAU TORRES – HIS CAREER SO FAR
Pau Torres is currently one of the most marketable and sought-after centre-backs in La Liga. Villarreal’s 23-year-old defender has been a mainstay in Javier Calleja’s 2019/20 campaign that saw the Yellow Submarine clinch a European spot to compete in Europa League next season. Of course, Calleja still got fired and will now be replaced by the former Arsenal man, Unai Emery.
But one thing is unlikely to change and that’s Torres’ big role in the gala XI, if Villarreal manage to retain him for next season, that is. But throughout his young career, the 23-year-old has mostly been faithful to the Yellow Submarine and has been a great servant to their badge since his early years. The local boy has been a part of the Villarreal youth setup ever since he was a kid and one of the club’s best prospects to break through the barrier and make it with the seniors.
His debut for the B squad arrived back in 2016 when he started a match that would eventually end in a 0-1 defeat at home to UE Cornella. A couple of months later, Torres scored his first goal for the squad despite being a centre-back by trade. And this time, Villarreal would get at least a point for their troubles in a 2-2 draw with CF Badalona. But that year wasn’t quite finished with the youngster yet.
On 20 December, he was called up by the first-team for a Copa del Rey clash and he even made his debut right there and then, coming on as a late substitute as his team registered a 1-1 draw with CD Toledo. With that appearance, he became the first local boy to debut for the club in 13 years long years, breaking quite an impressive record on the way.
Still, that was the first step towards what would become a stellar journey for the youngster. A year later, he got his La Liga debut against Sevilla but Villarreal would suffer a 2-3 defeat at the hands of the Andalusian squad. However, ten days later, Torres made his bow in Europa League, starting and finishing the clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The 2018/19 season was then spent on loan at Malaga but he would return to Villarreal for the following campaign, cementing his place as one of the most important cogs in the Yellow Submarine’s jigsaw. Now, despite being only 23 years of age, Torres is undoubtedly one of the brightest players at the club.
TRANSFER LATEST
According to some latest transfer news, Torres is on the radar of some big European clubs. And apparently, Manchester United are one of them as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to further improve his defensive line and find a partner for his centre-back star, Harry Maguire.
However, if the transfer news are to be believed, Villarreal will not part with Torres that easily and since he has four years left on his contract and is also being courted by many other teams, it will be interesting to see how the Red Devils go about striking this deal.
In some other Villarreal transfer news, it was said that the buyers will definitely have to trigger the player’s release clause because the Yellow Submarine is still very much reluctant to part with their academy product.
PLAYER PROFILE
Torres is very much a modern centre-back in making. The young defender is calm and composed when engaging his markers and is very good in registering successful defensive actions overall. But his best qualities can also be seen when he’s actually in possession of the ball. Torres is a ball-playing centre-back, meaning that he somewhat strays away from that traditional prototype defender.
His excellent passing range and the ability to progress play into the advanced zones of the pitch is something clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid value quite highly, hence their reported interest in the 23-year-old. And seeing how he’s both a great defender and also a great facilitator, it’s just a matter of time before big teams start knocking on Villarreal’s door far more often.