Villarreal’s Torres an option to succeed Ramos at Real Madrid - High fee the stumbling block

Real Madrid are planning to rebuild the centre their defence for the future. The contract of Sergio Ramos expires at the end of the season, while the current deals of Raphaël Varane and Nacho Fernández also end a year later. If Ramos does not extend, Los Blancos urgently need a replacement. David Alaba of Bayern Munich is considered the most likely candidate after he officially announced his departure from the Bundesliga club on Tuesday, as of now, becoming the most valuable player in history to move on for free.

Potential replacements for Ramos are said to be, in addition to Alaba, former Liverpool target David Carmo of SC Braga, Jules Koundé of Sevilla and Pau Torres. According to information acquired by Goal and Spox, Real Madrid are considering the signing of the 24-year-old centre-back from Villarreal. The Madrilenians are said to be scouting the Spaniard, at €50 million the most valuable player in the squad, for some time. Torres, who has not missed a minute in the league this season, plays alongside Ramos in the national team.

The problem: Torres’ contract with the club from the east of Spain still runs until 2024, with an exit clause of €50 million anchored in it. As a result of his Spain debut in November 2019, it has increased by another €15 million. A sum that Real Madrid – also due to the coronavirus crisis – are not willing to pay. Therefore, the defending titleholders are trying to use their good relations with Villarreal to lower the price.

However, Villarreal are one of the most solidly run clubs in Spain and are not suffering financially as much as others from the pandemic. As a result, El Submarino Amarillo would not necessarily be reliant on letting Torres move to Real Madrid for a lower transfer fee.