According to the most recent sources, English Premier League teams Arsenal and Aston Villa are both interested in bringing Spanish striker Ferran Torres back to the English top division during the summer transfer season.
With 41 appearances across all competitions and contributions of seven goals and two assists, the 23-year-old has been a staple for Barcelona in 2022–23, and the Blaugrana are now poised to capture another La Liga championship this year.
Torres signed a long-term contract with the Catalan club upon his transfer from Manchester City in January 2022 and still has four years left to go.
His future, though, is currently the subject of speculation as Barcelona, which is struggling financially, is under pressure to offload first-team players during the forthcoming transfer window.
Arsenal and Villa are keeping a careful eye on the issue, according to the football publication talkSPORT. Both teams are interested in signing him during the summer transfer window in order to improve their attacking options for the upcoming season.
According to the rumor, Torres has long been a favorite of Mikel Arteta, head coach of Arsenal, but Mateu Alemany, who is set to quit his job as director of football at Barcelona and transfer to Villa Park, has also been linked to Torres.
Unai Emery’s team would allegedly be in the running to sign Torres, who has four goals and one assist in 29 La Liga games this season, if Alemany were to move to Villa.
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Prior to joining Man City in August 2020, the Spain international started his professional career with Valencia, where he made 97 appearances across all competitions.
Before returning to Barcelona at the start of 2022, Torres played 43 times for Pep Guardiola’s team, scoring 16 goals and dishing out four assists.
During the forthcoming transfer window, Arsenal, who are currently vying with Manchester City for the Premier League title, are anticipated to sign at least one new forward.
Torres would be a fantastic signing for the Gunners because of his versatility, but Villa seems to be a difficult foe.
Unai Emery’s squad has won eight of its previous eleven league games, moving them up to eighth place in the standings, one point behind Brighton & Hove Albion in sixth.
Barcelona’s pay budget needs to be cut in order for the club to re-sign Lionel Messi on a free transfer this summer.
With 16 of his 29 league appearances coming off the bench, Torres has failed to earn frequent starts for Barcelona in the most recent games of this season.
Torres is unlikely to start for the team because Robert Lewandowski has just replaced him as Barcelona’s starting center forward. As he did last week against Osasuna, the Spaniard will aim to contribute from the bench this time around.
