Aston Villa pushing for Barcelona winger – report
Ferran Torres’ future continues to be a topic of much speculation as Barcelona continue to look for at least one major departure this summer.
The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with an exit, having fallen down the pecking order in Xavi’s plans following a largely underwhelming 18-month stint ta the club.
There have been clubs interested in Torres’ services, especially in the Premier League, where his stock still remains considerably high after his time at Manchester City.
Aston Villa interested in Ferran Torres
And one of the clubs from England keen on signing Torres this transfer window are Aston Villa, as per a report from SPORT.
The Villans have been linked with Torres for quite some time now, with their sights set on him ever since Mateu Alemany almost joined them as director.
While Alemany ended up staying at Barça, Villa have continued to hold an interest in the 23-year-old versatile forward, with manager Unai Emery endorsing his signing.
The report suggests that the Midlands club had made an attempt to sign him early in the summer window, but negotiations never really took off due to the player’s reluctance to leave as well as his high wages.
However, Villa are not ready to give up and are still pushing to sign the former Manchester City forward, although a move appears very complicated at this point.
Ferran, who has been at Barcelona since January 2022, has shown no inclination to leave despite his current situation at the club.
After the pre-season friendly against Arsenal earlier this week, the 23-year-old said: “I have a contract here, I’m staying. I don’t care what anyone says about me. I’m going to work as hard as anyone else.”
So, convincing him otherwise remains a huge issue for Aston Villa if they are serious about his signing.
At the same time, Barcelona are also being a little cautious at this point amidst the speculations swirling around Ousmane Dembele’s future.
PSG are said to be keen on triggering his €50 million release clause, which expires on Monday and Barça do not wish to sanction any exits from the attacking unit, until Dembele’s situation plays out, one way or the other.
As for Torres, though, he remains insistent on proving himself to Xavi and it remains to be seen whether the relentless pursuit of Aston Villa and a chance to take up a leading role at the English club convinces him to move.
