Who should Real Madrid buy if Raphael Varane does not re-sign?
Pau Torres – Villarreal
Pau Torres is a very talented Spanish centre-back that currently plays for Villarreal. This player might be the least renowned on the list if we’re talking about how many people know about him and his talent. But, let me tell you one thing: he is really, really good.
He’s the youngest after Kounde on this list, and also the tallest on this list. He’s definitely not the quickest centre-back in the world, and is stylistically a bit different to Raphael Varane, but, that doesn’t matter that much. He’s great on the ball, amazing in the air, he passes the ball well and is very attentive. He’s been one of La Liga’s best young centre-backs this season. His defensive IQ is way ahead of his age.
I covered Villarreal for the first half of the season because I was tracking Takefusa Kubo’s development over at Villarreal USA, and one of the players I was most impressed by was Pau Torres. He makes up for his slight lack of pace by being aggressive from the get-go. He’s always got his eyes on the ball and is always to go into challenges. That’s what I like about him the most. He partners Sergio Ramos for Spain, and they both work really well together, I won’t lie. Interestingly enough, there have been rumours since January that Real Madrid want to replace Sergio Ramos with Pau Torres. That doesn’t mean that he can’t replace the other centre-back, though.
By the way, we’re forgetting that Real already have a great young centre-back in Eder Militao, who, although didn’t have the greatest of seasons due to lack of playing time, is still every bit as talented and would work well with Pau Torres, or pretty much any centre-back on this list, if anyone is to join. Honestly speaking, Pau Torres is one guy who has the potential to replace any one of the two starting centre-backs that Real Madrid have.
Next. The 5 players Real Madrid should have never sold. dark
It’s sad that we’re hearing rumours about both of them not signing contract extensions, but if that is to happen, these three players are very well suited to eventually replace them at the heart of Real Madrid’s defense.