MANCHESTER UNITED are reportedly considering a swoop for Villarreal star Pau Torres.
But they could face competition from Barcelona if Chelsea sign Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.
Marca claims Torres is on Erik ten Hag’s shortlist despite the £57million arrival of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax.
United have so far failed to land a new No6 after struggling to convince Frenkie de Jong to leave Barcelona.
And one solution could be to play versatile defender Martinez as a holding midfielder.
That would open the door for a new left-footed centre-back at Old Trafford.
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And United are now thought to be weighing up a bid for Spain international Torres.
The Europa League winner, 25, snubbed a £46m bid from Tottenham last summer after Villarreal secured Champions League football.
But Torres is now ready to leave his boyhood club after they finished seventh last term.
However, should he move on, the ace could yet end up staying in Spain.
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That’s because Barcelona are monitoring Torres as they attempt to hijack Chelsea’s Kounde move.
The cash-strapped giants have received another financial injection by selling off more TV rights.
And rather than using it to cover existing debts and owed wages, Barca now want to add £60m-rated Kounde to their army of expensive new signings.
But reports in Seville claim Chelsea are still leading the race despite Kounde unexpectedly turning up to his club’s training camp.
Should they end up going for Torres, Barcelona could move ahead of United in the running.
That’s because they can offer Torres the Champions League football he desperately craves.
But he may not get as many minutes as he would like, with Barcelona already boasting four top centre-backs in Gerard Pique, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo.
Juventus are also thought to be interested in Torres despite landing Gleison Bremer from Torino ahead of Inter Milan.
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The Brazilian is seen as a direct replacement for Matthijs de Ligt, who left Juve for Bayern Munich this week.
But the Italians are yet to replace Giorgio Chiellini, who has departed for MLS side LAFC.
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