The Basics
Age: 26
Club: Villarreal
Nation: Spain
Position: Centre-back
Footed: Left
Under contract until: 2024
Torres was born in Villarreal and has played his entire career at his boyhood club since joining in 2002, aged five.
The defender made his professional debut in 2016 and has gone on to play 173 games for the club, cementing his place in the starting eleven following a successful loan spell at Málaga in the Spanish second division during the 2018/19 season.
He made his debut for the national team in 2019, scoring in a 7-0 win over Malta, and has made 23 total appearances for Spain.
The Links
Gregg Evans of The Athletic recently reported that if Villa look to add another centre-back, Torres, who is expected to leave Villarreal this transfer window, is at the “top of the list”.
The Scouting Report
Strengths
The asset which sets Torres apart from other centre-backs is his passing. He is extremely comfortable on the ball and can play perfect passes with either foot.
Whether it’s cross field balls on the money to a teammate or breaking the lines with a pass through the midfield to set up an attack, Torres’ passing is super impressive.
On top of this, the centre-back is confident to take on strikers and dribble past them. He stays cool under pressure and can find his way out of trouble.
This calmness is helpful when the ball is pinballing around, as Torres can easily control it and quickly pass it off.
He ranks in the 96th percentile for progressive passes, the 99th percentile for progressive carries and the 97thpercentile for successful take-ons among centre-backs in the ‘Big 5’ European leagues.
The fact his pass accuracy ranks in the 51st percentile given how many difficult passes he attempts is a testament to his quality. His composure and in-possession ability is something most centre-backs simply don’t have.
Torres is a cerebral and trustworthy defender. He is always switched on, checking his shoulders to make sure a striker hasn’t slipped away. This awareness means he can anticipate and track runners behind the defence.
His body positioning is always ideal, playing on the half turn so he can sprint back if necessary. Torres has more than enough pace to deal with threats in behind.
The Spaniard communicates with his teammates, consistently stays in line with his centre-back partner and backs them up if they become vulnerable.
He takes up safe positions in the box, covering the empty space and often being in the right place to clear the ball away. The centre-back ranks in the 70th percentile for clearances.
Torres shows he can use his stature (6’3”) and physicality effectively at times. He stays tight to opposing strikers and can nudge them, without giving away a foul, before winning the ball. Torres can shield the ball and ensure it goes out for a goal kick when needed.
When defending set pieces, he will fight to stay in front of his man, and he can lean on forwards just enough to put them off when trying to reach a cross or long ball into the penalty area.
If required, he will happily step up into midfield to pressure a player in space, not allowing them to turn.
He senses danger well and despite his silkiness on the ball, still knows when it’s better to be safe than sorry and smash the ball clear.
At the other end, Torres is lively in the opposition penalty area at set pieces, staying on the move even in second phase to try and free himself from his marker.
Torres has shown he can be a goal threat, scoring five times back in the 2021/22 La Liga season.
Weaknesses
Although he is effective at times, Torres has a general lack of physicality to his game which wouldn’t normally be expected for someone of his size.
He doesn’t tower over opponents in the air and loses more aerial battles than he should. The only time Torres really gets into trouble when bringing the ball out from the back is if he gets outmuscled. His aerial win percentage ranks in just the 23rd percentile.
Torres is a passive defender in some senses and won’t be seen making a lot of tackles or interceptions. He ranks in just the 1st percentile for interceptions, the 8th percentile for passes blocked and the 34th percentile for tackles.
There is built-in risk to the way he plays the game, and naturally this can go wrong if he plays an inaccurate pass into a dangerous area, which can happen.
On occasion he can over pursue the ball out into wide areas, vacating the central space and leaving a hole for his teammates to cover.
Fit With Villa
Torres would provide Villa with a better ball-playing centre-back than anything they currently have.
He would fit brilliantly into Unai Emery’s system, which of course he has thrived in before, and should transition easily, providing he settles in England.
The centre-back Villa would ideally replace in their starting 11 is Ezri Konsa since he’s not as competent of a progressive passer as Tyrone Mings.
But Torres is left-footed, meaning he’d be more of an immediate to Mings, who arguably doesn’t need replacing, which potentially makes this an awkward fit.
If Villa brought Torres in, they would suddenly have really strong competition for places between Torres, Mings, Konsa and Diego Carlos, which would be a good problem to have, especially with European football now on the schedule.
With only a year left on his contract, a transfer for Torres is certainly realistic, although Villa will likely have competition from some of Europe’s top clubs.
Similar Players
The 10 closest statistical comparisons to Torres, according to FBREF, are:
- Edmond Tapsoba – Leverkusen
- Daniel Amartey – Leicester City
- Joško Gvardiol – RB Leipzig
- Alex Sandro – Juventus
- Waldemar Anton – Stuttgart
- Kevin Danso – Lens
- Clément Lenglet – Tottenham Hotspur
- Daniel Vivian – Athletic Club
- Trevoh Chalobah – Chelsea
- Mario Hermoso – Atlético Madrid
Tapsoba, Danso and Vivian would all be reasonable alternatives if Torres can’t be acquired.
Transfer Targets Series
The Villa Ramble 
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