Villareal centre-back Pau Torres has revealed that he turned down an offer to join Tottenham Hotspur in last summer’s transfer window.
Torres has emerged as one of the most elegant and reliable central defenders in La Liga over the last two years and has become an integral part of Luis Enrique’s Spain team.
Tottenham reportedly tabled an offer worth £55 million for the Villarreal man during the summer but he chose to stay put at his boyhood club.
It was claimed at the time that Spurs were also ready to pay Torres four times what he currently earns at the La Liga club.
However, sources indicated that the 24-year-old turned down the move since he ‘preferred to wait for a better offer’.
Fabrizio Romano said last week on the Last Word on Spurs’ YouTube channel (starting at 18.41) that Fabio Paratici remains a fan of the centre-back and that Spurs could reignite their interest in the Spaniard at the end of the season.
Torres has now admitted that he did turn down the chance to join Spurs, insisting that he was happy at his hometown club.
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The defender told La Resistencia (relayed by El Desmarque and Sport Witness): “This summer, he [Fernando Roig] called my representative and told me there was an important offer from Tottenham, that it was worth more than now [salary].
“But as I play in the team of my town, which few players do, I decided to stay where I am happy.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Tottenham certainly need a left-sided centre-back to compete with Ben Davies but a deal for Torres would be difficult to pull off in the summer unless Spurs get back into the Champions League. One would expect plenty of Europe’s heavy hitters to be after the Villareal man at the end of the season.
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