Alan Hutton, a former Aston Villa full-back, has joined us as an exclusive columnist. Each week, he’ll share his thoughts on the hot topics at Villa Park…
According to Alan Hutton, Unai Emery will be praying that Pau Torres does not get injured while on international duty with Spain during this international break.
Torres, 26, has had a sluggish start to life in Birmingham, yet despite his poor form, the big-money summer purchase from Villarreal was nominated to Spain’s team for this international break.
However, he was an unused substitute in the 2010 World Cup champions’ 7-1 victory over Georgia in 2024 European Championship qualification on Friday (8 September).
Torres’ poor start as a Villan has coincided with Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos both being injured, with Carlos being withdrawn early in the defeat at Liverpool last week.
Hutton believes Emery will not only be closely monitoring Torres’ performances but also his overall game-time with the Spanish team.
“I think if they were honest, and you asked every single manager, they would be against any player leaving for international duty,” Hutton said to Villa News.
“But it is what it is, and you must accept it.”
“Diego Carlos is injured – I’m not sure how serious it is – and Tyrone Mings is out, so Torres will be the primary center-back going forward.”
“All managers will be keeping a close eye on what their players are doing on international duty and hoping they don’t play too much.”
Torres has made six appearances for Villa since signing for about £31.5 million in July.
On his Premier League debut, he came off the bench to replace the injured Mings, but he struggled in a 5-1 loss at St James’ Park.
The Spaniard has also preserved clean sheets against Everton and Hibernian, appeared in a 3-1 triumph at Burnley, and most recently, played 90 minutes in Liverpool’s 3-0 loss.
About The Author
Leave a Reply