Barcelona are reportedly inching closer to the capture of Manchester City star Ferran Torres with a €55 million deal set to be agreed.
According to journalist Jose Alvarez on El Chiringuito TV, Manchester City and Barcelona are in very advanced stages of negotiations for the transfer of Spanish forward Ferran Torres in the January transfer window.
The 21-year-old has been with the Cityzens since last year, having joined from Valencia in a deal worth €23 million plus add-ons. While he did not have a prolific debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium, Torres enjoyed a fairly solid season and played his part in helping the team win the Premier League and reach the finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Following that, the forward also had an impressive run with the Spanish national team at the UEFA Euro 2020 and made a promising start to the new season before an injury sidelined him. To date, Torres has notched up a return of 16 goals and four assists from 43 matches in all competitions, while he also netted 12 times in 22 caps for Spain.
The ex-Valencia prodigy has been on the radars of Barcelona since his days with Los Che. The appointment of Xavi Hernandez as the manager last month has only led to an increase in the interest from the Catalan club, who have made Torres their priority target for the January transfer window after having struggled in the final third this season.
The injuries to Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele, Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite have held Barça back, while the retirement of Sergio Aguero has also come as a blow. In addition to that, they are also set to part ways with summer signings Luuk de Jong and Yusuf Demir. So, even though youngster Abde Ezzalzouli has stepped up in recent weeks, a new forward is a must for the Blaugrana.
Given his ability to play anywhere in the frontline, and his knowledge of playing in Spain, Torres becomes a very viable target for Xavi & co. Negotiations over a move have been going on for a while without much progress. However, recent reports had indicated that a breakthrough was close.
Now, as per the report from El Chiringuito TV, the transfer is ‘90% done’, with Manchester City and Barcelona set to agree on a €55 million deal, €50 million of which will be the direct transfer fee and the remaining €5 million variables.
Torres is already believed to have an agreement over personal terms with Barcelona. And the retirement of Aguero should free up room on their wage bill to accommodate the 21-year-old’s salary while staying within La Liga’s Financial Fair Play limits. It now remains to be seen if the deal goes over the line in the coming weeks.
