The Villareal centre-back could be the perfect Josko Gvardiol alternative this summer.
Liverpool looking to make tweaks to their successful squad this summer following a disappointing season and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.
What’s the latest on Liverpool’s interest in Pau Torres?
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool are one of the many clubs who have been admiring Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres.
As per the report, Aston Villa are working hard to get a cut-price deal done for the talented defender, whilst Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and the Reds are named as admirers of the player.
Would Pau Torres be a good fit for Liverpool?
Indeed, Jurgen Klopp’s top priority this summer has been a midfield rebuild, however, the Reds are also seemingly on the hunt for a left-footed centre-back who can offer balance in the back-line as the current crop of central defenders at Anfield are all right-footed.
Liverpool have been linked with VfL Stuttgart ace Micky van de Ven and RB Leipzig titan Joska Gvardiol, both of whom are dominant on their left foot with the latter now reportedly agreeing on personal terms for a potential €100m (£86m) deal to join treble-winning Manchester City.
As a result, the signing of Torres could be an opportunity for Klopp to secure a centre-back with an extremely similar profile as Gvardiol but also would be much cheaper than his Croatian positional peer, with Villarreal possibly considering a fee as low as €40m (£34m), per some reports.
According to FBref, Gvardiol is named as the third most comparable player to Torres over the last 12 months, and it’s not hard to see why when you consider their vast similarities.
When comparing the defensive duo, the pair shared resemblances in many key attributes last season including aerial duels won (55.1% v 55.8%), ball recoveries (195 v 167), blocks (36 v 34), shot-creating actions (1.21 v 1.20) per 90, tackles and interceptions won (56 v 57) and pass accuracy (85.1% v 85.9%).
Not only that, Torres – once hailed as an “extraordinary talent” by former Villarreal star Javi Calleja – is one of the most progressive defenders in the top five European leagues, ranking in the top 7% of his positional peers for progressive passes, progressive carries and shot-creating actions per 90, demonstrating unrivalled ability in his ball-playing role in Villarreal’s defensive set up.
With that being said, if Liverpool could table an attractive offer to rival their competitors for Torres this summer he could be a fantastic signing for the club and provide Klopp with the profile of centre-back that he clearly desires to acquire ahead of next season.
Rebekka Arnold is an experienced writer who has worked for Snack Media as a football writer since November 2021.
After working in digital marketing and PR for 8 years, Rebekka branched out into content writing for film and television news website The Hook.
During this time, Rebekka was building a large following on Twitter for viral football content and opinion, as well as podcasting.
Rebekka now writes football opinion and match reaction content for Snack Media’s flagship website, Football Fancast.
