Ferran Torres is one of the more interesting players to watch in 2023. A player who many considered on his way out of Barcelona is reportedly willing to fight for his place in Xavi’s starting XI.
Torres has enjoyed a tumultuous time since switching Manchester for Barca in January 2022 and the player admits that he wasn’t at his best during Barcelona’s La Liga campaign.
Things got so bad that he consulted a psychologist, believing that part of the problem was mental.
Suffering an injury just before pre-season didn’t help with his preparations, and the 23-year-old international ended up making just 14 starts in La Liga, with 19 further appearances off the bench. Often being used for the final 20 minutes of the game.
It’s no secret that Barcelona are looking to trim its wage bill and many expected Ferran Torres to be one of the first names to be trimmed this summer.
No offers have been forthcoming for the 35-cap international and even a loan move now looks unlikely with the winger from Foios looking to earn the trust of manager Xavi on the upcoming pre-season tour of the USA.
Xavi has often said this pre-season that every single player is starting from scratch, and if he wants to find an example of a Barca renaissance, all he has to do is look across the dressing room.
Frenkie de Jong is a good example for Ferran Torres
Last summer Barcelona and Manchester United agreed a deal to send the Dutch midfielder to Old Trafford, but wanting to stay in Catalonia de Jong refused.
He worked to earn the trust of Xavi and became one of the key cogs in the championship team. Many now consider him to be an untouchable player for Barca.
Torres will be hoping to follow his lead, but it won’t be easy for the former Valencia youth player.
Last year both Ousmane Dembélé and new signing Raphinha were preferred to Torres, and he was never likely to supplant Polish legend Robert Lewandowski.
Those three are expected to start the majority of games for Xavi this year with Abde Ezzalzouli and Ansu Fati also providing competition for places.
Torres back to his best in 2023?
Sometimes we have a tendency to give up on players far too quickly, and it’s important to remember that Torres is just 23 years old.
It’s also important to remember why we were so excited to have him join the Blaugrana in the first place. He’s also reportedly returned to training camp in outstanding shape.
He’s incredibly quick with close control, can play in all three forward positions and offers an aerial presence in the box.
He’s a hard worker with intelligent positional play who can play the ball with either foot.
All he needs to do is go back to being the player we thought we were getting when he joined from City. He scored 7 times over his first 25 appearances, and that’s the player we need for 2023.
If he can get back to his best, he can absolutely push Raphinha for the spot on the right side of the forward three.