
<p>Aston Villa has shocked many around the soccer world by agreeing a fee with Villarreal to sign Pau Torres. The Spanish center-back had previous links to top clubs such as <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/bayern-munich-tv-schedule/">Bayern Munich</a>, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-united-tv-schedule/">Manchester United</a> and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/tottenham-tv-schedule/">Tottenham Hotspur</a>. Nevertheless, manager Unai Emery grabs his number one summer transfer target.</p>



<p>Along with the transfer fee, <em><a href="https://theathletic.com/4651595/2023/06/29/pau-torres-aston-villa-transfer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Athletic</a></em> is reporting that the West Midlands side has also agreed personal terms with the player. Although an official price tag has not yet been revealed, Villa will at the very least come close to breaking their transfer record for a player. Emiliano Buendia is currently the club’s record transfer after joining the team in 2021 for a base fee of $42 million. <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jun/29/aston-villa-agree-35m-deal-to-sign-pau-torres-from-villarreal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Guardian</a></em> is claiming that Torres will cost Villa in the neighborhood of $44 million.</p>



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 Aston Villa have now reached an agreement with Villarreal to sign centre-back Pau Torres. Personal terms are also in place for 26yo Spain international defender to join in what’s another big coup for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AVFC</a> + manager Unai Emery <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthleticFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthleticFC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Villarreal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Villarreal</a> <a href="https://t.co/T2CzI9skDI">https://t.co/T2CzI9skDI</a></p>— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1674398071675822081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2>Pau Torres reunites with Emery in massive deal for Aston Villa</h2>



<p>Nabbing Torres out of the grasp of top <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/champions-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Champions League</a> clubs is a significant coup for Villa. The 26-year-old Spain international is widely regarded as one of the top central defenders in Europe. While few thought that the team could compete with top sides for Torres, he will now reunite with Emery in England.</p>



<p>Torres previously played under Emery’s guidance at Villarreal from 2020 to 2022. The two helped the Spanish side win the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/europa-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Europa League</a> during the 2020/21 campaign. Torres was included in the competition’s best XI for the triumph.</p>



<h5>Emery, Monchi key to Villa’s success with transfers</h5>



<p>Things certainly changed for the better at the team when they brought in Emery as manager back in November. The Villans were sitting 16th in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premier League</a> table after a disastrous start of the campaign under Steven Gerrard. Nevertheless, Emery guided the club up to a respectable seventh place in the final standings. As a result, Villa will feature in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/conference-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Europa Conference League</a> in the upcoming campaign.</p>



<p>Monchi, the director of football operations at Villa, played a massive role in this deal. Prior to joining the club, Monchi and Emery had a history. Monchi held the position of sporting director at Sevilla. In fact, Monchi hired Emery as manager in 2013. Emery led Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League titles before departing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2016.</p>



<p>Despite hitting some rough patches in recent years, Villa has shown a direct signal of intent with major moves as of late. The massive Torres deal could very well be just the start of key transfers for Emery and Monchi. Fans of the club will be hoping that the duo keep delivering on these significant targets in the years to come. </p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO &amp; Pressinphoto</em></p>


Aston Villa has agreed a fee with Villarreal to sign Pau Torres despite the defender pulling interest from several European powers.

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Villa bests top European teams to sign Pau Torres