Manchester United are said to be close to making an official bid for Valencia winger, Ferran Torres, according to reports. The highly-rated Valencia winger could be an alternative for Jadon Sancho, who is likely to cost the Old Trafford club £100 million or more, a problem amount considering the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The 20-year-old, the same age as English winger Sancho, has done well with Los Che this season, despite the season being suspended since mid-March due to the virus. However, La Liga football will return form the 8 June, making it the second top-flight European league to make the return from suspension, the first being the Bundesliga in Germany.
Torres, who turned 20 in February, signed his current contract at the Mestalla club back in April 2018, which is due to expire in the summer of 2021, meaning the player will have one more year at the club after this summer. His future at the club could be in doubt, especially with United interested in him, if these reports are in fact true.
During the 2019/20 season, before the coronavirus pandemic suspended world football, Torres has made a total of 35 appearances for the Spanish club, scoring six goals and seven assists – playing in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League, and the Supercopa. He has played a total of 2,622 minutes of football this season.
When La Liga returns, Valencia sit in seventh place in the league, four points away from the Champions League places, which is where they want to be next season. If that happens, it is a possibility that this could enable the club to keep Torres, although the interest of other clubs this summer could change that if the player wants a new challenge.
United will not be the only team interested in Torres this summer though with cross city rivals Manchester City, North West rivals Liverpool, plus Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus all following the player’s progress at Valencia, seemingly making a clear run for the player difficult. The fact his value will be cut makes it more interesting.
Torres has been at Valencia for his entire career, coming through the clubs academy, playing the Valencia Mestalla and making his senior debut at the club in 2017. Since then, he has played a total of 88 appearances at the club, scoring nine goals and 11 assists, making a further 12 appearances at Mestalla, scoring one goal and five assists.
United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will probably keep and eye on Torres for the remainder of the season, with United linked to other players who could play in the right-wing position. They have probably not turned their back on Sancho just yet, but if the Bundesliga club stick to their valuation, it would be hard to see United paying £100 million.
Solskjaer is said to be interested in making three major signings this summer, which was the same last summer and the previous one, which may not make supporters happy. However, is a striker and a right-winger were signed, it would go a long way into helping United cut back the gap between them and Liverpool next season.
