Villarreal’s president, Fernando Roig, has opened the door for Manchester United or Manchester City to sign Pau Torres this summer but insists the centre-back will not leave for a cut-price fee.
Torres has established himself as one of the best defenders in Spain and has attracted interest from several clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, City and United.
The 24-year-old is on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s shortlist ahead of the transfer window and United have made the signing of a central defender one of their priorities this summer.
Torres has a €65 million (£55.8m) release clause in his contract with Villarreal and Roig has indicated that the club will not accept anything less than that figure.
In an interview with Spanish radio show El Transistor after Villarreal’s victory over United in the Europa League final, Roig was asked directly about the prospect of Torres joining Manchester City this summer.
‘If they arrive with the money and the player wants to move,’ said Roig
‘But there must be an agreement between all three parties.’
Solskjaer, meanwhile, has made it clear that he wants United to strengthen with more new signings before the start of next season.
‘We’ve probably done as well as anyone could imagine,’ Solskjaer said after United’s shootout defeat to Villarreal.
‘We need to do better and work harder, be cleverer, but two or three players [are needed] to strengthen the starting XI and the squad altogether.
‘It’s important for us to go even further. I’m sure our contenders or challengers will also want to improve so we want to improve as much as we can.’
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