Aston Villa have announced the signing of Spain centre-back Pau Torres from Villarreal for a reported fee of £31.5m.
Torres is now the second-most expensive signing in Aston Villa’s history, behind Emiliano Buendia who was signed for £38m from Norwich in 2021.
The centre-back, who had one year remaining on his existing contract, made 39 appearances for Villarreal last season and was part of the Spain squad which reached the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Confirming the signing of 26-year-old Pau Torres, Aston Villa said in a statement;
“The 26-year-old defender, who has been capped on 23 occasions for his country, arrives at Villa for an undisclosed fee.
“A native of Villarreal, Torres came through the ranks of his hometown club and went on to become a key player for the La Liga side.”
Villa have been looking to add experience to their squad ahead of their Europa Conference League campaign and Torres is the club’s second signing of the transfer window, following the arrival of midfielder Youri Tielemans from Leicester City earlier this week.
Torres was associated with Villarreal for 21 years, coming through the club’s academy before breaking into the first team and forming part of the side which won the Europa League under Emery in 2021.
He made 173 appearances for his boyhood team, scoring 12 times, and has played 23 times for Spain.
He won the Europa League with Villarreal under current Villa boss Unai Emery when they defeated Manchester United in the 2021 final.
Aston Villa will start their 2023/24 Premier League season with a Saturday Night Football fixture away at Newcastle on August 12.
They have three away trips in their first four games of the domestic season. They will host Everton at Villa Park on August 19 before travelling to Burnley (August 26) and Liverpool (September 2).