Aston Villa make formal offer to sign ‘amazing’ defender, Unai Emery is a big fan

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Aston Villa have now made a formal offer to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres this summer.

Spanish outlet Cadena SER, via Sport Witness, provide more details ahead of the transfer window opening.

Few teams have seen a bigger uptick in form and performance under a new manager than Aston Villa.

Unai Emery’s arrival has revolutionised a side that looked bereft of confidence and ideas under Steven Gerrard.

Comparing their 3-0 defeat to Fulham in Gerrard’s last game to their 2-1 win over Brighton on the final day is like watching a full set of different players.

Emery led Aston Villa into the Europa Conference League on the final day of the season and now needs to build a side capable of fighting on an extra front.

He’s already identified a player he knows plenty about in defender Pau Torres.

Cadena SER believe that Aston Villa have now made a formal offer to sign Torres.

They face competition from elsewhere in Europe but financially should be able to compete with almost any club that make a bid.

Villa make offer for Pau Torres

The report suggests that Aston Villa have sounded out the Spanish international defender over the past few weeks.

They now believe the English side have ‘formalised their offer’ and Torres will make a decision on his future in the next month.

Torres is admired by Emery having worked together for years at Villarreal.

The ‘amazing’ centre-back could team up with another La Liga alumni in Diego Carlos if he moves to Villa Park.

Alongside Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, Emery would have four quality centre-back options to choose from.

The report doesn’t say how much Aston Villa have bid to sign the 26-year-old.

Torres reportedly has a £52m release clause, although it’s unlikely that Villa would have made an offer near that figure.

It may not be easy to tempt Torres to switch Europa League football with his boyhood club for Europa Conference League football elsewhere.

However, in Emery, Villa have a coach he trusts and they can almost certainly offer Torres a better contract than the one he’s currently on.

The opportunity to test himself in the Premier League may be tough to turn down as well.