By Jamie Agar.
Manchester City have reportedly agreed a fee of €27m for Valencia’s wing wonderkid, Ferran Torres.
Valencia faced a challenge to keep Torres as he enters the final year of his contract, especially as the club failed to qualify for any of next season’s European competitions.
The 20-year-old winger has received plaudits for his performances in La Liga last season, during which he scored four goals and assisted five. He also scored twice in the Champions League, adding two assists in that competition, too.
City going to get Ferran Torres. Really exciting player. Young of course so have to have patience perhaps but *the* outstanding young Spanish player of this generation coming through.
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) July 29, 2020
Whilst Torres’ primary position so far has been on the right-wing, he could also provide cover on the left, and potentially be a replacement for Leroy Sane who regularly played on that side.
Torres has a market value of just over £40m according to Transfermarkt. With his contract expiring in 2021, the fee City paid, which could include an extra €12m in add-ons, takes the deal close to that valuation.
Torres is likely to initially provide cover for Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling on either side, but could become a key player for City in the future.
Despite being just 20 years old, Torres has already made 71 La Liga appearances and is a seasoned senior player at club level, though is yet to be capped for the senior Spanish national team. He does, however, have appearances throughout the age groups at youth international level, where he was part of Spain teams that won the UEFA European U17 Championship in 2017, and the U19 equivalent last year.
Torres will likely join Bournemouth defender Nathan Aké as City’s first signings of the 2020 summer transfer window.
“We are working a lot,” City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain told the club website this month. “We have to be always ready.
“It could be a strange transfer window because players have to move first. We need players who can improve our squad but also players could leave.
“It’s going to be strange because we have the Champions League so we have to wait until that finishes so maybe we have less time than ever.”