Valencia have always been a club that produces talents on a consistent basis. From Juan Mata, David Silva and even David Villa from the days gone by, they have taken this habit forward over the years. That makes the prospect of Ferran Torres very interesting and that is why the links with Juventus make sense.
Goal’s reliable Romeo Agresti has said that Federico Bernardeschi and Douglas Costa could be on the way out, with Juve looking at the idea of signing Torres. The report states that the deal could potentially go ahead if Juve do manage to sell Bernardeschi and Costa, with Torres having rejected two contract offers from Valencia.
The move makes sense in a lot of ways too. Torres is a product of the Valencia youth academy and has grown in stature since making his debut back in the 2017-18 season. The fact that there is no shortage of interest in him shows that the chase won’t be an easy task for the Bianconeri.
This season, Torres is enjoying his best campaign for the Mestalla-based side. He has contributed to 13 goals in all competitions, while playing 35 games for the club. In La Liga, the 20-year-old winger has had a hand in eight goals in 25 games. While those aren’t huge numbers by any means, but Ferran’s age has to be taken under consideration.
It is worth noting how Ferran’s output has increased too. His XG per 90 minutes this season has been higher than the previous two seasons- 0.16. His XA per 90 minutes has also been higher than the last two campaigns- 0.23. It shows how the player has been improving over time and there is a chance that this improvement keeps going on.
He is capable enough of playing on either flank, but his preferred position happens to be right-wing. He thrives on getting on the ball and going past people. This season, he’s completed 2.18 dribbles per 90 minutes and completes them with an accuracy of 53 percent. He takes 2.6 touches in the box and this helps him in playing closer to goal, but it is still less than the average of 3.9 touches in the box per 90 minutes.
And it shows that there are things he needs to improve on. The most important one is his final pass. The youngster has created only 1.06 chances per 90 minutes and plays only 0.1 through balls per 90 minutes. It shows that his creation is low and his output will only improve once that rectifies.
This all comes down to how 5.6 percent of his touches come in the opposition’s box. He doesn’t play in the final third as much as a flair player like him should and if he does that in the future, things will improve. And that is one key reason why Maurizio Sarri’s system could be key to his development.
While Sarri has been using a 4-3-1-2 system a lot of times this season, he’s often gone back to a 4-3-3 multiple times. His system has seen players struggle to build play up like he wants. They aren’t moving the ball along quickly, leading to their play looking stagnant a lot of times.
While the front-three stay upfront, the midfield can’t quite play the ball into the final third. Ferran won’t solve the stagnant midfield issues, but he will play closer to goal than he does at Valencia. He will get more touches in the box and he’ll have top-class players to service in front of him. Like it is Paulo Dybala this season, he’ll get a lot of the ball, considering how Sarri wants his system to be possession-based.
Ferran won’t be the final piece in the jigsaw though. Juve would need to bring creative midfielders in to provide service to the front three. Bernardeschi and Costa going out will help Ferran have a place in the first-team.
