Aston Villa: Some fans will now be 'sick' of £33m star at Villa Park

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·21 September 2023

Aston Villa: Some fans will now be 'sick' of £33m star at Villa Park

Highlights

Pau Torres has had a mixed start to his Aston Villa career due to the physicality of the Premier League and his lack of aggression or power.
Some top Premier League clubs avoided signing Torres because of these concerns, but Villa saw his good passing ability and awareness as valuable traits.
Despite the divide among fans, Torres has the potential to shine through as a good footballer, but there may be more concerns and moments when he is overpowered in the coming weeks.

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Aston Villa defender Pau Torres has endured a mixed start to the season with his new club, and journalist Dean Jones has shared with GIVEMESPORT one reason why he may have struggled, and explained why some top Premier League clubs avoided him.

The Midlands club needed to bring in reinforcements after qualifying for the Europa Conference League last campaign.

Torres signed for Villa in the summer transfer window for an initial fee of around £33m from Villarreal, as per Sky Sports. The Spanish defender had played in his home country for his whole career before making the move to England, so the 26-year-old has had to adapt to a new life and a different style of play. It's certainly not been a perfect start for Torres, with Jones previously telling GIVEMESPORT that the Villa defender has struggled so far.

Torres has been thrown in at the deep end at Villa Park with Mings ruled out for a significant period due to injury. Unai Emery may have hoped to give Torres time to settle in, possibly playing him in Europe and the odd appearance in the Premier League. However, Torres has started four out of the five games so far in England's top flight.

Although Villa fans may have been expecting more from Torres since his arrival, the Spanish centre-back has confessed that Emery is a manager who knows how to get the best out of him...

“I know Unai Emery well. I know his way to work and coach. He’s a leader. He knows how to bring out the best of every player and that includes me. So when he told me about the project (at Villa), I was really happy with it. I felt it was another step in my career. Last season when he arrived, he changed the team. He made them improve, so they could now play in Europe."

Emery has been building a team he feels can compete on a European and domestic front, and they now have one of the strongest squads outside of the traditional 'big six'.

His performances have definitely caused a divide between fans - Dean Jones

Some fans are likely to have been impressed with how comfortable Torres is on the ball, considering the time he has spent in Spain. However, the physicality of the Premier League is completely different, and he's shown signs of struggling in this department so far this season.

Jones has suggested that some fans will be sick of the fact that Torres has been poor so far, but others are willing to give him time to settle in at Villa Park. The journalist adds that some top Premier League clubs opted to avoid signing Torres due to his lack of aggression or power. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said...

"His performances have definitely caused a divide between fans. On one hand, you want to give someone like this time to settle, and you want them to make their mark on the team, but other fans will be sick of the fact that he's proved to be pretty poor so far. Pau Torres is not a strong player. The lack of aggression or power is actually one of the things that put off some top clubs in the Premier League. They were concerned that he wouldn't quite be at the level they needed. But he's a very good footballer, he has a great awareness of the game and a good passing ability that Aston Villa really liked, and that probably will shine through in the end. But there will continue to be moments when he's overpowered and those fans that don't like what they've seen so far, will probably have more ammunition in these coming weeks and months, because there will probably be more concerns to come."

Will Aston Villa look to sign another defender?

Konsa has been utilised at right-back during his time at Villa Park under Emery, which would leave the Midlands club short in the middle of the defence, especially with Mings out injured. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano told GIVEMESPORT during the summer transfer window that Villa were keen on signing Nuno Tavares, but had two or three other names on their list in that position. Rather than signing a central defender in January, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Villa look to bring in a full-back for additional cover.