Chelsea are ready to fork out €50 million to land Pau Torres after they faced a setback in pursuit of Jules Kounde.
According to Calcio Mercato Web, Premier League giants Chelsea have earmarked Villarreal star Pau Torres as an alternative for Sevilla ace Jules Kounde this summer.
The Blues are in the market for a centre-back following the summer exits of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.This left Thomas Tuchel with the largely unproven Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr as Thiago Silva’s partners. The Brazilian himself is 37 and entering the final phase of his career.
To address the issues, Chelsea signed Kalidou Koulibaly from SSC Napoli earlier this month but need at least one more addition to their centre-back roster. Their pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt went nowhere, while the move for Nathan Ake fell flat as well. The Blues were close to agreeing a deal for Jules Kounde but now risk being gazumped again this summer by Barcelona.
As a result, the Londoners have now shifted their attention to Torres and have earmarked him as an alternative for Kounde. The Villarreal star is a ball-playing centre-half who is among the best in his position in Spain. The 25-year-old can be a long-term solution to Chelsea’s defensive woes and has attracted attention from several top clubs thanks to his performances at the Estadio De La Ceramica.
Chelsea are ready to splash the cash and will offer €50 million to secure Torres’s services. With the 2022/23 Premier League campaign less than two weeks away, they will do well to secure their squad as soon as possible.
Bringing in Torres will hand Chelsea a player who can help bring the ball out from the back. The Spaniard can link up well with Ben Chilwell on the left-hand side, offering a dynamism that is in line with the modern game. More so, Torres is also a nuisance in set-piece situations and alongside Koulibaly can offer the Blues a goalscoring threat.
Chelsea have been long-term admirers of Kounde, but so far, their pursuit has yielded them nothing. With Barcelona now closing in on the Frenchman, they are better off shifting gears to Torres and going all out to land the 25-year-old. There is no reason to believe that he isn’t a good fit for Tuchel’s system.