‘Explored this’: Arsenal really considered signing ‘brilliant’ £41m centre-back this summer, Romano now claims
Fabrizio Romano has told Caught Offside that Arsenal explored a potential deal for Pau Torres during the summer – but the Gunners were ultimately put off by his asking price.
Torres has been an outstanding performer for Villarreal, helping the Yellow Submarine win the Europa League in 2021. Meanwhile, he looks to be in with a very good chance of going to the World Cup with Spain later this year.
He has been heavily linked with a Premier League move in recent windows.
Reports claimed that Tottenham had made a £43 million bid in the summer. Meanwhile, Romano suggested that Arsenal may make a move if Gabriel Magalhaes made a surprise exit.
Obviously, Gabriel went nowhere. But it does seem that Arsenal still looked into a possible deal for the 25-year-old.
According to Romano, the Gunners registered an interest in signing Torres. But ultimately, his asking price – worth up to £41 million – put them off.
“Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham also explored this possibility but didn’t want to spend €40-45m,” he told Caught Offside.
“I think it’s a very good opportunity on the market; he has experience, quality, left footed … a very good CB.”
You can understand why Arsenal decided to back away from pursuing a deal for Torres in the summer.
He is a ‘brilliant‘ centre-back who may improve further. However, Mikel Arteta is hardly struggling for depth at the heart of his defence.
Ben White has had to play at right-back for minutes this season with William Saliba shining alongside Gabriel. Meanwhile, the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu and Rob Holding are also in the ranks.
Torres would certainly help improve their options further. But spending £41 million on him may have seemed unnecessary when the priority towards the end of the window was probably another attacking player.
However, that may not necessarily mean that the Gunners have completely moved on from Torres.
