Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all explored the possibility of signing Villarreal star Pau Torres but baulked at his £40million price tag.
The Gunners were interested in signing a left-sided defender but the return and form of William Saliba eased Mikel Arteta's defensive concerns. Chelsea signed two new central defenders in the summer transfer window with Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana making the move to Stamford Bridge.
Torres would've added quality cover on the left side of defence for the Blues, but the arrival of Marc Cucurella with the Spaniard's versatility to play at left-back and centre back meant a deal wasn't a priority for the Villarreal defender. Antonio Conte was keen to add defensive reinforcements to his squad but opted to bring in Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet on a season-long loan deal instead of Torres.
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All three London clubs explored the possibility of bringing in the 25-year-old centre back but were put off by Villarreal's £40million valuation, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. In his CaughtOffside column, Romano wrote: “Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham also explored this possibility but didn’t want to spend €40-45m.
"I think it’s a very good opportunity on the market; he has experience, quality, left footed. A very good CB.”
Torres could have proved to be a smart signing for Chelsea following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer. Todd Boehly and former manager Thomas Tuchel opted to sign Koulibaly and Fofana instead, spending over £100million on defensive additions including Marc Cucurella's arrival.
Arsenal may well have made a formal bid for the Villarreal star if Gabriel Magalhaes joined Juventus after The Old Lady were said to be interested in the Brazilian defender. Saliba's impressive form alongside Gabriel paired with the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back eased Arteta's desire to strengthen his defence in the summer.
Torres was heavily linked with a move to Spurs but the loan signing of Lenglet ended speculation surrounding a move for the Spaniard. It remains to be seen whether the La Liga club will lower their valuation of the 25-year-old, with his contract expiring in 2024, and if they did so it could spark a three-way bidding war next summer.
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