OFFICIAL: Aston Villa Confirms The Signing Of Pau Torres From Villarreal.

 Aston Villa have officially announced the signing of Pau Torres from Villarreal for an undisclosed fee.

The Spanish central defender had just a year left on his Villarreal contract, but now reunites with former Villarreal manager Unai Emery, who can now form a backline almost exclusively of La Liga players from a year ago, alongside Alex Moreno and Diego Carlos.

The 26-year-old, played under Villa boss Emery at Villarreal between 2020 and 2023.

Unai Emery has been keen on Torres since his return to the Premier League and believes the defender can help take the squad to the next level as they look to cement their position of playing European football.

Although neither side confirmed a fee, it has been widely reported that Villarreal have accepted an offer of €32.5m plus €5m in bonuses from Villa, and will immediately become thesecond-highest fee in Villa's history behind only the £38m paid for Emiliano Buendia from Norwich in 2021.

Torres had agreed personal terms on a five-year contract to 2028.

He follows Youri Tielemans in joining Unai Emery's men this summer, after the former Leicester City star arrived on a free transfer.

The defender, who is a product of the club's youth system having made his first Villarreal appearance in 2016, he became the first player born in the small Valencian town to debut for the club in 13 years.

Torres quickly established himself as a key player in the squad, winning the 2021 Europa League under Emery when he was among the scorers in the penalty shootout victory over Manchester United.

He played a pivotal role as Villarreal finished fifth in La Liga last season.

He made 173 appearances for his boyhood team, scoring 12 times, and has played 23 times for Spain.

Torres made his international debut for Spain in 2019 and has played both at Euro 2020 and was part of the team that reached the round-of-16 the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.