Arsenal are monitoring Barcelona winger Ferran Torres ahead of a summer move as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his squad for next season, according to talkSPORT.
The Gunners are in the market to bolster their attacking options and have identified Torres as a potential transfer target following his impressive performances for Barca – who sit at the summit of the La Liga table.
talkSPORT claims that the 23-year-old may have to be sold this summer as the Spanish giants try to raise funds to bring back Lionel Messi. The Argentinean superstar is set to leave PSG at the end of the season after being slapped with a two-week suspension.
Arsenal are currently second in the Premier League table with 78 points, just one point behind leaders Manchester City who have a game in hand.
Arteta has worked from a relatively small squad this season and a lack of quality back-ups has hindered their progress in other competitions such as the Carabao Cup, Emirates FA Cup, and Europa League.
Arsenal need to strengthen as they prepare to return to the Champions League next year, and despite bringing in Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard in the past two windows, Arteta is looking to sign another forward with Torres emerging as a target.
Quality signing
According to talkSPORT, Barcelona’s decision to sell Torres has put a number of Premier League sides on alert, including Arsenal. It’s believed that Arteta is a long-standing admirer of the forward and would like to bring him to Emirates Stadium this summer.
Since joining Barcelona from Manchester City last summer, Torres has become a fan favourite at the Camp Nou under Xavi. He has racked up 67 appearances in all competitions, scored 14 goals, and provided eight assists.
This season, the Spain international has been a regular for Barca, featuring in 41 games and making nine goal contributions across all competitions as Xavi’s side edge closer to winning La Liga.
Torres, who is valued at £26m by Transfermarkt, represented Spain at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as they exited the competition at the round of 16. He featured in all of Spain’s matches, scoring twice in the 7-0 win over Costa Rica.
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