Villarreal president says door wide open for Man Utd over release-clause transfer
Villarreal will not stand in the way of a transfer for Pau Torres with Manchester United and Manchester City pondering summer moves.
Torres is believed to have passed his “final audition” for United with a dominant display in Villarreal’s rear-guard action in the penalty shootout win over United in the Europa League final. The Manchester Evening News claimed United would use Torres’ display against Edinson Cavani to decide whether the centre-back was the man for them.
The 24-year-old performed admirably in Gdansk and United, who head City in the queue for Torres, cannot fail to have been impressed. In fact the Daily Mirror suggests that director of football John Murtough is ready to sanction the deal.
And any hopes they have for Torres, who The Guardian claim is on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s four-man target list, have been boosted by Villarreal’s president Fernando Roig.
Torres has established himself as one of the best defenders in Spain. He has attracted interest from several clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona as well as the two Manchester clubs.
In an interview with Spanish radio show El Transistor after Villarreal’s Europa League final win, Roig was asked directly about the prospect of Torres joining Man City this summer.
“If they arrive with the money and the player wants to move,” said Roig, via Metro.
“But there must be an agreement between all three parties.”
Torres is under contract until 2024, but it’s unclear exactly what the value of his exit clause is.
The Metro reports a £55.8m buyout, while The Mirror has reported a more modest £43m. However, it could be anywhere in between with the Express claiming last week an incremental release clause.
That sits at £43m for ‘El Kaizer’ for the majority of the window, until the last two weeks when it will automatically rise to £57m. A fast-tracked deal looks unlikely with Torres involved in Euro 2020 for Spain.
The tournament gets underway in two weeks. And it would represent a huge coup if United could get a deal done in that time. A more likely timescale is after the Euros which will wrap up on July 11.
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Torres open to transfer
But a deal looks likely if United agree to match the Yellow Submarine’s value.
Torres last month addressed his future for the first time. Speaking to Sport, he admitted to consulting with several friends over a potential move.
“Players who have gone through important clubs, when they talk about an experience they have had, I like to listen to them, both Paco Alcacer and Raul Albiol or Alberto Moreno,” Torres said.
“They tell you things that you have not yet experienced and that you think you would like to experience.”
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