Aston Villa are on the path to great success with Unai Emery at the helm.
The Villans have two games remaining to potentially end the season with European football lined up for the 2023/24 campaign, their first full term with the Spaniard in charge.
When Emery took over from Steven Gerrard at Villa Park in November, the club were nearing the relegation zone and in abysmal form with just two wins from their opening nine games.
Fast-forward to now, and Villa have registered 17 wins and sit in seventh just behind Tottenham Hotspur in 6th on just goal difference alone, amounting to two goals.
Despite the success of this season, Emery has reportedly already turned his attention to the summer transfer window, with a host of players being linked to a move to Villa Park.
News emerging over the weekend has placed the Midlands club as one hoping to sign a La Liga star as per the wishes of incoming Director of Football, Mateu Alemany from Barcelona.
What’s the latest on Ferran Torres to Aston Villa?
As reported by Spanish news outlet AS – as per Sports Witness – Alemany has pointed to Barcelona forward Ferran Torres as a potential new signing for the Villans ahead of the transfer window.
The news picked up as fellow Spanish outlet Sport told that the two clubs are “already negotiating” the potential transfer of the former Manchester City winger, who signed for the Catalan giants just last winter.
The report furthered talk by stating the forward will not be leaving Barcelona for at least a fee of €40m (£37m) to cover the costs of his €55m arrival in Catalonia from Manchester.
What could Ferran Torres bring to Aston Villa?
Speaking to The Athletic in April, the Villa boss expressed his desire to sign another forward in the summer window to “play with” Ollie Watkins in a bid to add depth and improve the team.
Watkins has found the net 14 times so far this season in the Premier League from 34 starts, with Torres netting four in just 13 starts for Barcelona in La Liga.
Lauded as "world-class" by Xavi, the wide forward ranks higher than Villa’s striker in a range of areas, including registering more successful take-ons per 90 minutes, as well as more touches in the box per 90 minutes – as per FBref.
The 23-year-old averages 5.86 touches in the penalty area per 90 minutes, slightly more than Watkins who scores 4.71 per 90 in this area.
The winger also averages 1.97 successful take-ons to the Englishman’s 0.51 per 90, showing the areas of his game contrasting to the Villa forwards.
While both score almost evenly in their ability to get goals through their average number of non-penalty goals per 90, Torres with 0.38 and Watkins with 0.39, the two could be a formidable force for Emery’s front line.
Combining Torres’ strengths in going forward on the ball with Villa’s number 11’s efficiency in front of goal, the Spaniard could create an attack to fire the Midlands club to another level, should the deal pull through.
Only time will tell if the club can get the Spaniard to trade the Camp Nou for Villa Park, however with Alemany and Emery’s influence, things look all the more possible.
