Report: Chelsea ready to pay nearly £50m to make sure they sign 'extraordinary' player this summer
Chelsea are reportedly readying themselves to spend big bucks on Pau Torres.
According to La Razon, the European champions would be prepared to pay Villarreal around €60m (£50m) for their centre-back.
Torres looks destined for a move away from his boyhood club at the end of the season, with a quartet of Premier League giants apparently eyeing up his signature.
La Razon claim that Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and now Manchester City are all jostling to win the ‘extraordinary’ 25-year-old’s attention.
Out of the four, the need for the Stamford Bridge hierarchy to sign the Spain international is probably the greatest.
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Trouble for Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel could lose a maximum of three senior defenders this summer, leaving a gaping hole in his previously packed defence.
Antonio Rudiger is on the verge of joining Real Madrid, with a verbal four-year contract already in place.
Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta might be joining their co-worker on the plane to Spain, as they are both targets of Barcelona.
Bid farewell to the important trio and Chelsea will be looking at a rear-guard not exactly fit for a league title challenge.
Hence why the board are already preparing to splash the cash in the next market to help improve Tuchel’s squad.
Understandably, the priority right now is centre-halves.
At the top is still Jules Kounde, following his failed transfer to South West London last August.
But just beneath him seems to be another familiar face from La Liga.
Pau Torres can pack a punch
Torres has been part of Villarreal’s first team for half a decade, having been born into their academy system.
At still such a relatively young age, he has already played in the grandest domestic and international footballing competitions.
He was involved at Anfield against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final last night, nearly 12 months on from being defeated by Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup final.
Not long before that, Torres suffered European Championship semi-final heartbreak.
Rewind just a bit further, and he was lifting the Europa League trophy after overcoming Manchester United.
Some pedigree for a player who is still four years younger than Rudiger.
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