Player Analysis: Pau Torres – Is He Really the Answer Manchester United Need?

Europe’s Most Wanted Defender

An analysis on one of the world’s most sought-after centre back, and no it's not Phil Jones

Not many players are privileged to play for their hometown club, many youth players may not be good enough to make the grade and hence, released once their youth contract expires. The demands of a footballer are high, especially in Europe where money can be spent seamlessly to fill a hole in the team. That said, when Torres became Villareal’s first local debutant in 13 years against CD Toledo in the Copa del Rey in the 2016/17 season, expectations on him were high and we can see him relishing his potential today.  

Pau Torres is currently living the dream as a boyhood Villarreal fan, playing regular football for both club and country whilst being amongst the radar of Europe’s elite. The centre back has impressed alongside Raúl Albiol at the heart of defence for the yellow submarines, as they chase European football for the second successive season, this time under Unai Emery.

The 24-year-old defender has been linked with moves to Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona but is also reportedly open to a move abroad to England. The Spaniard has been heavily linked with Manchester City in the past, but having acquired Ruben Dias in the previous summer transfer window, perhaps a move to city neighbours Manchester United would be the more appealing option, but would it be a sensible one for both parties?

The dashboard below shows why Torres is highly regarded as one of the best ball-playing centre backs of his generation and his importance to Villarreal when compared to other centre backs in the La Liga. This analysis will cover the Spaniard’s performance with club and country this season. All figures below are based on performance per 90 minutes played, according to FBref via StatsBomb.

viz by Author [Chun Hang]

Gazelle-esque Defending

Pau Torres is a brilliant all-around footballer blessed with fantastic technical qualities. He exudes calmness on the pitch and is extremely comfortable on the ball. Given his athletic frame and mental attributes, he is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most talented ball-playing centre backs. His elegant gazelle-like playstyle contradicts the mean and rough tacklers, defenders are stereotypically called in the old days. From the dashboard above, we can see that Torres bears no similarities to that.

"If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake" 

- Paolo Maldini 

Though capable of the odd slide tackle when necessary, this is certainly not what Torres is known for. Instead, he is a passive defender who marks the space rather than the man, providing sufficient cover for his partner in the game. The defender doesn’t engage in tackles but rather positions himself efficiently to clear the ball instead. This would explain his low rate of tackles and interceptions registered in the league this season. In fact, Torres has only registered 0.54 tackles per90, which is the least number of tackles amongst defenders who have played a minimum of 10 games in the league. Whilst his teammates would be the ones doing the tackling around the pitch, he would be the player sweeping up loose balls and progressing the ball forwards.

Composed on the Ball
[Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images]

What makes up for his lack of tackling in the defensive side of the game, is certainly his excellence in the reading of the game, which is very rare to find in young footballers nowadays. The Spaniard doesn’t switch off for a second during the whole game, spending the whole 90 concentrated on what is happening in front of him, giving him the mental advantage of being able to anticipate play before it happens. Whenever a through ball is played to the strikers, Torres would already have seen it coming and procced to clear it. Torres is positionally astute and doesn’t commit tackles often, preferring to stand his ground, and face up to his opponent. This does show in the stats where he has registered 4.42 clearances per90 and is amongst the league’s best when it comes to being dribbled past, only allowing 0.23 dribbles per90 this season.

In their 6-nil demolition against Germany at the Nations League, the visitors won the ball back in the midfield third and Werner slipped through a pass to the speedy Gnabry. Ramos tried to intervene by committing himself but ultimately missed the ball, leaving the covering Torres to sweep in and guide the loose ball back to the keeper before Gnabry makes them pay. This showcases the centre back’s awareness of the players around him as well as his positioning.

Gnabry seemingly 1v1 against the keeper but Torres tracked back well to guide the ball back to Unai Simón

Another example that highlights his concentration and positioning is the Europa League game against RB Salzburg. There are multiple times where RB Salzburg have attempted to utilize the pace of Daka by passing through balls towards the penalty area for the striker to latch onto. In this instance, Daka has made a diagonal run from Torres’s blindside but the defender can read the situation and clears the ball before it reaches Daka.

Torres well-positioned and aware to clear the danger before Daka latches onto the pass

Almost Like a Midfielder Playing in Defence

Perhaps where Torres attracts the most attention is his distribution and progressive actions that lead to attacks. In a day where the defence plays a massive role in goal contributions, not many are better than Torres with his wand of a left foot. As mentioned previously, the player possesses great technical abilities and is far from an old-fashioned centre back.

The Spaniard is key to his team’s offensive approach where they emphasize on building up play from the back, just as other major football teams in the world now. Being a left-footed centre back also meant that more passing options are available to be played, as supposed to a right-footed centre back occupying the left space. Being left-footed operating on the left side of defence also brings about more balance in build-up play. For instance, if a right-footed centre back were to pass it from the left, the passing lane can easily be blocked and the chances of the ball getting intercepted are higher. On the other hand, left-footed centre backs can easily make the pass with his left. This is just one of the reasons why left-footed centre backs are in demand in modern football, and not many are as good as Pau Torres.

Right-footed centre backs’ passing options are limited compared to left-footed centre backs’

His distribution of the ball is superb and is comparable to those who play in midfield, perhaps Pau Torres is even good enough to play as a deep-lying playmaker if needed given his fantastic passing range and comfort on the ball. This season, Torres has registered 4.62 key passes per90, which is amongst the league’s best amongst defenders. Besides that, his 4.38 progressive passes per90 ensures Villarreal keep the ball moving forward with him dictating play from deep.
In the game against Germany, the defender played a massive role in Spain’s 4^th goal. Upon receiving the ball in his penalty box, he looks up and assesses his option. This draws the Germans towards the player, attempting to press Torres and closing down the passing lane. As mentioned, Torres is left-footed so has no problems distributing an excellent long ball out to Dani Olmo halfway up the pitch. The play subsequently led to a goal, all started from Torres’s pass. 

Torres with a brilliant ball out to Dani Olmo shows his qualities and the advantages of being left-footed playing as the left-sided centre back

Besides being able to distribute the ball from deep, Torres is also fairly adapted at carrying the ball with him and driving forward, drawing opposition towards him, leaving his teammates free. This season, Torres has accomplished 51.6 carries per game, with 5.58 of them being progressive carries. To put it in context, he has outperformed Marcos Acuna, Kieran Trippier and Hugo Mallo in this metric, all full-backs with great ball carrying abilities. His composure has definitely been helpful in this regard as he is calmness personified whenever on the ball, never phased by anything the opposition would throw at him. He is often reliable and composed when dribbling or carrying the ball out from the back, like against Barcelona in the below example where he skips past the Barcelona player with ease before carrying it forward.

Torres showing great composure when carrying the ball forward despite being pressed

Does He Fit United?

Manchester United also attempt to build up from the back and have their two centre backs, dictate play from deep. Maguire and Lindelöf are the go-to pairings for Ole due to their ball-playing abilities. In this system, Maguire is normally the more proactive defender, going for aerial duels as well as engaging attackers with tackles and interceptions. Lindelöf on the other hand is just like Pau Torres where he prefers to mark the space and anticipate play rather than go for the man.

Ole has reportedly expressed his desire to have a left-footed centre back to enhance his team’s build-up play and it seems like Pau Torres might be the player. The last left-footed centre back the club had was Marcos Rojo, who left for Argentina in the previous transfer window. Despite that, United never really looked comfortable with Rojo playing at defence and have played Maguire there ever since he arrived in 2019. Before that it was Lindelöf who played there. It seems like Ole’s attempt to counter the issue of the lack of a left-footed centre back is by having the club’s most technically proficient centre back playing there, despite being predominantly right-footed. So, the rumours that link Torres to Old Trafford does make sense.

If the move does happen, it is most likely that Lindelöf is the one that is getting replaced, whilst club captain Harry Maguire will take his place as the right-sided centre back. Torres would likely fit the mould of the left-footed ball-playing centre back Ole has yearned for so long, but how does he compare against the Swede International?  The dashboard below will highlight the ball-playing attributes in Progressive Passes and Progressive Carries, as well as defensive attribute such as Tackles + Interceptions and Aerial Duels Won.

Pau Torres vs Victor Lindelof
[Viz by Author]

As we can see, the Spaniard dominates the Swede in terms of ball progression. Lindelöf may not be as effective in carrying the ball forward to make play happen or distribute it as well as Pau Torres can. But in terms of defending, it is the Swede who reigns supreme over the Spaniard. As mentioned, both players are passive defenders who prefer to cover the space left behind rather than engage in duels and challenges with opposition attackers, hence why both are at the lower end of the spectrum in terms of tackles + interception. This season, Torres only recorded 1.38 tackles+ interception per game whereas Lindelöf has recorded 0.19 more. Perhaps what is most surprising is the Aerial Duels metric where Lindelöf once again betters the 6’3 Pau Torres. Ironically, Torres has been relatively poor in aerial duels, winning only 1.92 headers per90 whereas Lindelöf wins 2.26 per90. It is perhaps something that Torres should look to improve given his stature and height.

But yet again, this could be skewed due to the different tactics employed by both teams. Manchester United actually plays a very high line against most opposition who sits deep. They rely on both their centre backs to push up further and win the ball back whenever a long ball is initiated by the opposition. Torres on the other hand has been culpable on a few occasions when Villarreal play a high line and hence prefers to drop deeper than his teammates to sweep up balls instead of engaging in aerial duels. When we consider the win rate of the two defenders, the Swede still beats the Spaniard but this time by a smaller margin of 63.6% to The Spaniard’s 61.7%.

Should United get him?

Short Answer: Yes.

Long Answer: Manchester United’s source of creativity heavily relies on Bruno’s shoulders. When Pogba doesn’t feature, we can always see him dropping much deeper trying to influence play. So, a defender who can carry the ball forwards and distribute it could effectively free Bruno of this burden and play higher up the pitch where he is most dangerous. The question looms over the defender’s ability to play in a high line and with an offside trap but given his maturity and brilliant football IQ, I have no doubt he can become a great asset to Manchester United.

If United decide against the move, I can perfectly understand why but there would be no shortage of offers for the 24-year-old come the end of the season. With the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid looking for successors to legendary centre backs Pique and Ramos, Torres seems to be the perfect long-term solution to their problems. Nonetheless, Pau Torres’s next career decision will be a big one, be it staying at his boyhood club or leaving for bigger ambitions, Torres’s name will be highly thought of in the future.