Manchester City will be heading into the new season looking to bridge the gap with Liverpool. Pep Guardiola would be needing to address a few positions of the squad and accordingly bringing in reinforcements. Although a lot of the concern has been regarding the defensive positions, City could do with a right-winger, especially when someone like Ferran Torres is on the market.
Calcionapioli24 states that Manchester City are eyeing the Valencia winger, who has had a meteoric rise in recent times. However, City are not the only club looking to rope in the player with a host of other sides vying for his signature as well.
The 2019-20 campaign of the starlet
Valencia are languishing at the 7th position in the league this season, but Torres has been their silver lining. The Spaniard has dazzled for his side on the right side of the wing and shown to the world that he could be a generational star in the making. The La Liga side have mostly used a 4-4-2 system this term, meaning that the 20-year-old has played in a more central position than what he would have liked.
The statistics may show that Torres has made 1.7 dribbles per game in the league this season, but let that not fool us. He can take on the defenders with ease and get ahead of them with a sharp turn and his dribbling skills to eventually pass the ball to a better-placed teammate. Again, it is to be mentioned here that he has completed only 79.6% of his total passes in La Liga, but most of those passes have been vertical.
Torres’ mentality to press on the accelerator each time he gets the ball and sprint towards the opposition goal has made him a constant threat. In terms of crosses, the figures state that he has created 0.4 of them in the league per 90 minutes, but what it does not say is that his sublime vision has made it possible to locate the forwards in the opponent’s goal and deliver a pinpoint ball to their feet every time.
What would he bring to Manchester City?
Manchester City, at this moment, have Bernardo Silva and Mahrez playing in the right-wing slot for the club. It is to be noted that the combination of Kyle Walker at the right-back and Silva at the wings have produced some moments of magic for City. However, it should also be pointed out that both Silva and Mahrez have failed to establish themselves as the first choices in Pep’s side and as a result of that the manager has had to rotate both these players frequently.
Torres fundamentally is a much more talented man than any of these established players. Therefore it is not difficult to fathom the Spaniard replacing them in the first eleven with time. However, bringing the player to Etihad is easier said than done, and City would have to shell out a considerable sum of money to meet Valencia’s demands, which may prove to be an obstacle in these torrid times.
Stats from Whoscored.
