Romano: Chelsea among London teams who showed interest in La Liga defender this summer

Transfer News: Chelsea were one of the clubs that explored the idea of signing Pau Torres

As per an exclusive Fabrizio Romano column on CaughtOffside (h/t Football.London), Chelsea, along with their London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur explored the possibility to sign Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres in the summer window.

However, they were not ready to spend the Spanish club’s asking price, which was in the region of £40m. All three clubs needed defensive reinforcements for different reasons, but they went for other options.

Chelsea let go of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger in the summer. They replaced them by spending over £100m on centre-backs Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana. They spent a hefty amount to prize Marc Cucurella away from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Torres is a fantastic left-footed centre-back who has experience playing elite football for some years now. He was one of the mainstays in Villarreal’s run to the Champions League semi-final last season, beating German champions Bayern Munich along the way.

The Spain international was also part of the Yellow Submarines’ Europa League success in 2021, beating Manchester United in the final.

So, it is clear that the 25-year-old is an experienced player who is top class in most aspects of his game. He has been linked with English clubs before and now, namely Manchester United.

Could Chelsea have been sensible and signed Torres for £40m rather than spending £75m on Fofana? Yes is the straight answer. It depends on the manager as well, who went for a versatile left-footed defender in Cucurella, rather than signing a specialist top quality centre-back.

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If the Blues get an opportunity to sign him in the future, they should grab it with both hands. Thiago Silva is not getting any younger. Torres can be good in the centre of a back three and can dominate forwards one-v-one in a back four.