Man Utd ready sensational £42m bid for ‘absolute star’ from Aston Villa – report

Manchester United are plotting the statement signing of Aston Villa star Pau Torres next summer, a report has claimed.

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Man Utd continue to hold concrete interest in the centre-back after missing out on him to Aston Villa in the summer of 2023. Torres’ classy performances for Aston Villa have ‘sparked’ Man Utd’s renewed pursuit of him, which is spearheaded by Old Trafford chiefs Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox.

Torres has become an ‘absolute star’ under Unai Emery at Villa Park and Man Utd are eager to sign him to help take their backline to the next level.

It is claimed that Man Utd have drawn up a €50million (£41.8m / US$54.9m) offer for the left-footed defender and are hopeful this will be accepted.

Fichajes state that Villa would consider such a proposal, even though Torres has already become a crucial part of Emery’s project in the West Midlands.

Pau Torres to Man Utd would be a big shock

While Man Utd have certainly admired Torres ever since his breakthrough in Spain – he even played in Villarreal’s Europa League final victory over the Red Devils in 2021 – it is hard to see such a transfer happening at this stage.

Man Utd are seemingly in crisis mode and weighing up whether to sack manager Erik ten Hag, whereas Villa are thriving under Emery. Ahead of Man Utd’s trip to Villa Park on Sunday, Emery’s side sit in fifth place and have also returned to the Champions League.

Man Utd, meanwhile, are down in 13th spot and are struggling to make their mark in the Europa League, let alone impress in the Champions League.

Plus, Man Utd would need to spend far more than £42m to convince Villa to sell Torres. Villa originally spent £31.5m (€37.7m / US$41.3m) to sign the 27-year-old, and his value has increased rapidly since then.

It is not a complete surprise that Man Utd are already looking at more centre-back options following the summer arrivals of Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt.

Yoro has yet to make his competitive debut for the club after getting injured in pre-season, while De Ligt has largely struggled so far.

But Man Utd already have Lisandro Martinez as their main left-sided centre-half, so Torres moving to Old Trafford at the end of the season appears unlikely.

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Meanwhile, Ten Hag’s close friend, Leon Ten Voorde, has opened up on the Dutch coach potentially leaving Man Utd.

“I advised him to leave last summer,” Ten Voorde said. “He won the FA Cup, so you leave through the front door.

“He’s had a lot of injuries this past year. But then trainers think: ‘I can turn things around’.

“How long does United think this can go on? That question is now hanging over United and Ten Hag again.”

Amid constant speculation surrounding Ten Hag’s future, Man Utd are preparing for future transfers.

The Red Devils are reportedly set to challenge Liverpool and Real Madrid for rising Chile star Dario Osorio.

With Antony not looking like he well ever nail down a starting spot on the right flank, Man Utd have identified FC Midtjylland winger Osorio as a possible replacement.

However, it will be tough to beat Madrid in the chase for the 20-year-old, as they specialise in landing the best South American talent.