Arsenal are reported to be one of the clubs keeping an eye on Barcelona striker Ferran Torres.
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The versatile Spain international has shone during his time at Barça and, surprisingly, could still be available this summer as the club tries to solve its financial problems.
This is according to a report from TEAMtalk, which lists Arsenal alongside Manchester United and Atletico Madrid as potential suitors for Torres.
The newspaper said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a long-time fan of Torres, who previously played in England for Manchester City.
Arteta was Josep Guardiola’s assistant at City before taking over as Gunners manager, and although he and Torres never overlapped at the Etihad Stadium, it is possible that he was monitored by the club’s coaching staff for some time before actually joining.
Where next for Ferran Torres?
Arteta’s desire to work with Torres puts Arsenal in a good position to sign him this summer, but the 26-year-old will also want to play regularly.
Despite contributing 16 goals and one assist in all competitions this season, Torres has yet to establish himself as a regular starter at Barcelona and will likely want a more prominent role wherever he ends up next.
There is no guarantee that Arsenal will get many starts at the Emirates Stadium as they have many attacking options, but that could change if injury-prone forwards such as Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus leave.
Meanwhile, Manchester United may also find a role for former City players, after Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesco have been a bit inconsistent this season.
Barcelona make changes from the front
TEAMtalk also suggests that one of the reasons Barcelona are looking to let Torres go is so they can use him in a potential swap deal.
Offering Torres to Atletico Madrid could help the Catalan giants land Julián Álvarez, while it could also be a good way to reduce the price of on-loan Marcus Rashford if they want to sign United’s star on a permanent deal.
It would be interesting to see if there are any Arsenal players Barca would be interested in in such a deal, but I can’t think of any obvious candidates.
