After the era of Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos will need a new centre-back partner for Spain with the Euros coming up. While a number of players have been tried out in this role, it seems as though Pau Torres has gained Luis Enriques trust and should therefore be Spains starting centre-back alongside Ramos for the foreseeable future.
This has happened at club level as well, where Torres has become almost ever-present for Villarreal CF, where he came through the academy. His partnership with Raúl Albiol has been one of the key parts of the teams success under Unai Emery. His performances have brought rumours of a move to a bigger club next summer Manchester City and Manchester United were interested in the 24-year-old defender last year, but a transfer did not go through. It would not be a surprise to see Manchester United rekindle their interest, with other clubs in Europe sniffing around as well.
This scout report looks at Torres abilities, attributes and playing style, while we also suggest some issues in this tactical analysis piece that must be fixed in order for the Spaniard to go to the absolute top of the game.
Build-up and passing
One of the biggest reasons for the attention around Torres is his exceptional ball-playing ability. Despite being just 24 years old and just his second season as an established first-team player, the Spanish defender is extremely comfortable on the ball and good at running with it and advancing the attack. These are important qualities for a modern centre-back and he has the ability to help his team in their build-up, along with his obvious defensive qualities.
The above image is Torres’ heat map in the 2020/21 campaign. Being a left-sided centre-back, we can see how he primarily affects play on that side of the pitch. However, it is interesting to note how his actions extend into the opposition half as well, showing how he plays a role in the first two phases of his teams build-up.
The above scatter chart summariz
