Tottenham tipped to beat Man Utd and Chelsea to signing of ‘£51m’ Champions League star

The Villarreal defender looks set to be in demand this summer.
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Tottenham Hotspur are being tipped to win the race for Spanish centre-back Pau Torres ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Chelsea this summer.

The Villarreal star is understood to be attracting widespread attention after an impressive campaign in which he helped his side reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, eventually bowing out to quadruple-chasing Liverpool.

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Reports of English interest in Torres have been circulating for some time, but were reiterated by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano earlier in the week.

Writing on his personal Twitter account, the Italian journalist said: “Manchester United are discussing Villarreal’s Pau Torres as one of 3/4 options for the new centre-back. No proposal made yet, as it depends on Erik ten Hag decision and Man Utd board changes.

“Chelsea are also monitoring Pau. €55/60m (£51m) release clause into his contract.”

Romano has also claimed, however, that Tottenham are still monitoring the player, who was linked with a move to north London last summer.

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Speaking on the Que Golazo YouTube channel, he said: “Tottenham wanted him one year ago and he was close to joining Tottenham, then he decided to stay at Villarreal to play Champions League football, which was something historical, but now Tottenham are still following him.”

And while competition for the 25-year-old is likely to be fierce, bookmakers are of the opinion that Spurs hold the advantage in any race for his signature.

According to SkyBet, Antonio Conte’s men are favourites to land Torres at a price of 3/1.

Their nearest rivals are Manchester United at 5/1, closely followed by Chelsea at 6/1. Further down the pecking order still are Barcelona at 9/1, and Manchester City and Real Madrid, both priced at 12/1.

Aside from a season-long loan with Malaga in 2018/19, Torres has spent his entire career with Villarreal, amassing 17 senior caps for Spain in the process.