Aston Villa willing to pay for £44m star after Guessand

After what has been a quiet summer so far for Aston Villa, things seem like they are starting to happen. Unai Emery’s side will be competing in the Europa League next season, and are looking to strengthen their side for a competition they will surely be hoping to do well in.

The Villans seem to be targeting a new attacker this summer. One man who they’ve been linked to recently is Alejandro Garnacho. It was reported this week that Emery’s side have entered the race to sign the Manchester United winger his summer, although they will have to compete with Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea for his signature.

Garnacho is not the only winger Villa want to sign this summer, with links to another forward returning this week.

Aston Villa’s latest attacking target

Whether the Villans sign Garnacho or another target out wide, they will seemingly get to link up with Evann Guessand. The Nice striker will move to Villa Park this summer for a fee of £30m, according to reports, However, it might not be the Man United star who joins him in attack.

As per reports in Spain, via Football365, the West Midlands giants are said to be interested in signing Barcelona and Spain international winger Ferran Torres. They are said to be ‘willing to pay’ the money Barca have asked for this summer, after previously having bids rejected.

In terms of that price tag, the La Liga giants have asked for a fee of £44m for the versatile forward this summer. It is a price that the Villa manager ‘hopes they’ll accept this time’.

If they meet that price, a deal is not guaranteed, with Barca officials ‘considering whether it’s really worth selling him’ this summer.

Why Torres would be a good signing

At only 25 years of age, Torres has already achieved plenty in his career. He has won some huge trophies, including the Premier League, La Liga and the European Championship. Individually, he is a “special” player, according to football scout Antonio Mango.

Indeed, that talent was on show for Barca last season. The forward, who came through the academy at Valencia, played 45 games in all competitions, scoring 19 times and grabbing seven assists. He managed 16 goals and assists in 27 appearances during his side’s successful La Liga campaign.

Let’s not forget, the versatile forward has already experienced Premier League football. Torres played for Manchester City for just over one year. He made 43 appearances, scoring 16 goals and registering four assists in that time.

Signing Torres over Garnacho could be a huge move for the Villans. The United winger has struggled of late, and despite registering 21 goal involvements in 58 games last term, just six goals and two assists came in the Premier League.

Despite the number of games he’s already played, the 21-year-old is inexperienced, which shows at times. Rio Ferdiand said last year that one area of his game he “needs to work on is that decision-making” in his game.

Whilst that can work in his favour sometimes, an example being this goal against Newcastle, it can work against him, too.

Not only is Torres’ game more refined, and he has more experience, but the numbers on Squawka suggest he’d be an upgrade, too.

For example, the Barca winger averaged 1.4 goals and assists and 6.3 forward passes per 90 minutes last term. In comparison, United’s number 17 averaged 0.4 goals and assists and 3.5 forward passes each game.

Torres, a flexible player who can lead the line or play on either flank, would surely be an upgrade on Garnacho. Not only is he more consistent in front of goal, but he offers great progression and better quality of cross into the box.

For a fee of around £44m, this could be a steal for Villa this summer, as they look to upgrade their attack.