At long last, Barcelona has managed to secure Ferran Torres. The 21-year-old winger had been on Xavi Hernandez‘s shortlist for quite a while however, due to a price conflict between Manchester City and Barcelona, the negotiations were overly extended. Barca was willing to pay 45 million whereas City wanted 60 million, plus add-ons. The deal was finalized at 55 million with an extra 10 for add-ons and this was something that both the clubs could compromise upon. However, there is another problem that the Catalans have to solve before they can start playing Torres on the field.
The player is officially a Barca player however, he cannot participate in La Liga due to the wage regulations imposed by the league. The Blaugrana are already over the current salary cap and in order for them to sign Torres or rather register him to the club, they will have to sell a few high-earning players. They are on the right path as they have managed to offload one of their biggest earners, Philippe Coutinho, to Aston Villa, however, they will have to do more in order to register him. Players such as Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet, and Martin Braithwaite are earning a lot of money while providing very little to the club and thus, they should be let go off immediately.
Ferran Torres is a fantastic signing for Barcelona
However, today we will be talking about how Torres can affect the Catalan team and why exactly did the European giants spend over 50 million euros for the player. There are a lot of positives he can bring to the club and his young age means that he can continue performing for the team for a longer period of time. He also understands the situation in the club and thus financial benefits are not why he joined the club. He is passionate about Barcelona and here are four things he will bring to the club.
#1 Finishing and Versatility
His main strength and one that even he likes to stress upon is his amazing versatility. Now while the media might portray him to be a winger, he is actually much more than that. The player has the ability to play in any one of the three attacking positions and thus his versatility will be extremely useful. He can be used in different positions, which can help during an injury crisis. His position can also be changed mid-game in order to keep the attack unique and the opposition guessing.
Another amazing quality that he will be bringing to Barca and one quality that every forward should have is finishing. The player was more of a supporting character back in Valencia however, under Pep Guardiola, his finishing improved a lot and he scored 13 goals in his first season with the Citizens. He would have been crucial this season as well for the Sky Blues, however, his injuries prevented him from breaking into the first team.
#2 Dynamic Vision
Since Torres is such a versatile player, he has built up an understanding of the game from various different positions. This allows him to be extremely aware of everything that is happening within the game and he can act accordingly. He is fast to adapt to new situations and can make himself useful in a lot of different scenarios. His vision allows him to make runs that can split open a team’s defence and since he has good finishing as well, he can rely on his own abilities rather than having to cut back.
The player is quite good on the ball as well and thus he can be expected to make quite a few crucial runs with the ball and without the ball as well. He can be an assist-providing winger or a goal poacher. His runs will define his gameplay and thus, it is crucial that enough balls are played his way, as he can be the marquee player for the Catalans.
#3 Guardiola style pressing
Playing under Guardiola can be frustrating sometimes because of the level of excellence he asks from his players. The manager buys a lot of players however, not everyone can adjust to his system and his high energy pressing style is not suited for everyone. In order to be in Guardiola’s team, you have to provide your one hundred percent all the time and keep pressing the opponents high up the pitch. This is something that was not a problem for the quality winger and he adapted to the Guardiola style of play quite well.
High pressing and winning the ball back high up on the pitch is something that he can provide. He can provide the intensity that City displays in every one of their games and it will be an important aspect that he can share with the rest of the team as well. His previous work with the Spanish manager will help him in his new journey at Barca as well since Xavi shares a similar philosophy and Torres can shed some more light into it.
#4 More than just an attacker
Another quality that can make him extremely important to the team is his ability to run up and down the pitch while helping out the entire team, not just the attack. Like a wing-back, Torres likes to run the full length of the pitch and help out the team as much as he can. He is not a stagnant player who will only play on one side of the field but he will push down and actively try to help out the defence as well. This shows his passion for the game and his desire to win every match that he plays in.
Again, this is a quality inbuilt in the player which was reinforced by the high pressing nature of Guardiola. Xavi will be pleased with this attribute of the player and every player in the team should have the urgency to win back the ball and keep the opposition uncomfortable on the ball. Torres will be a huge addition to the team and we cannot wait to see him play his first match for the club.
Are you excited to watch Ferran Torres at the Nou Camp?