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Chelsea want Pau Torres, a good deal?

Chelsea were one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market last season across Europe with the Blues backing then-manager Frank Lampard to their highest extent.

Chelsea want Pau Torres, a good deal?

Bengaluru, Feb 24: Chelsea were one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market last season across Europe with the Blues backing then-manager Frank Lampard to their highest extent.

However, with things not clearly working out under the club legend turned manager, the West London club parted ways with him and brought Thomas Tuchel at the helm and the German has made an immediate impact at Stamford Bridge.

But, the Blues are still far from a finished product and it is needless to say that their new manager will make an attempt to stamp his authority on the squad and will be looking for players of his own choice in the summer.

The Blues have been strongly linked with a host of central defenders in recent weeks such as Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate and David Alaba. With Upamecano having already agreed to a move to Bayern Munich and Alaba looking on his way to Real Madrid, the Blues are now looking for alternatives and have identified Villareal defender Pau Torres as a potential candidate alongside Konate. Torres has been a familiar name to the Premier League fans with the Spaniard formerly getting linked with both Manchester giants.

Chelsea are not particularly short of options at the heart of the defence with Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen all pretty solid options and skipper Cesar Azipilicueta can also feature at centre-back in Thomas Tuchel's favoured 3-4-1-2 formation. However, it is not the only depth that wins trophies but the quality of the whole squad and there have been question marks over the ability and consistency levels of Christensen, Rudiger and even Zouma.

Thiago Silva has been immense for the Blues since joining them on a free transfer last summer following the expiry of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain but the Brazilian legend is already 36 years of age and it is high time that the blues should look for a long-term successor of the former AC Milan skipper. And, Torres has what it takes to fill in the shoes of the 36-year-old in the long run just like he has already filled in the shoes of another legend Gerard Pique in the Spain national team.

Left-footed central defenders are usually more coveted than the right-footed centre back and Torres being left-footed takes his stock even higher. The 24-year-old has become one of Europe’s hottest young defenders over the last few months but he is a bit of a late bloomer which is evident from the fact that he has played just 71 games for his boyhood club, Villareal, to date.

It was during his loan spell with Malaga in 2018-19 in the Segunda Division when Torres impressed his boyhood club and they eventually retained him next season and since then he has not looked back.

Thomas Tuchel plays a very fast, attacking and pressing game and for that, he needs central defenders who are fast and Torres is not just fast but was the fastest player in La Liga last season having recorded a top speed of 34.9 km/h.

He is also excellent on the ball and has an eye for a pass be it long or short. Blessed with a frame of 6 feet 4 inches, the Spaniard also excels in the air and that would help the Blues not just defensively but also in attacking situations. Torres has a €65 million release clause in his contract but the Yellow Submarine are unlikely to demand that much for their priced asset and if Chelsea can land him at a fee around even €50 million, it is likely to go down as an excellent signing.

Story first published: Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 19:46 [IST]
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