Aston Villa’s Pau Torres says he and his family are happy with their life in Birmingham.
Unai Emery’s side took advantage of the ongoing international break and made a trip to Spain.
Aston Villa travelled to Murcia for a friendly against Elche last Friday, which ended in a 2-1 loss to the visitors.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente didn’t include the centre-back in the squad for March’s fixtures. This allowed him to travel with the Villans, who stayed at DoubleTree La Torre by Hilton.
This gave Spanish newspaper Marca an opportunity to have a detailed interview with the 29-year-old after training. Earlier today, he explained what frustrates Emery the most at Villa Park.
Aston Villa in his long-term plans
Towards the end of the interview, Marca specifically ask Pau Torres about his future. The newspaper were curious to know whether that will be with the English club.
Responding to that, he said: “Yes, I’m doing well. My family is doing well there. The club is doing well and is growing. We’re going to play in European competition again next season, barring any unforeseen circumstances; we don’t know which one yet.”
“We’re achieving good goals, and that’s the idea. To keep playing in the Premier League, to keep playing in Europe. I see myself at least at Villa until the end of my contract.”
Unai Emery’s side are fourth in the table, five and six points ahead of fifth and sixth placed Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.
This put them in a good position to qualify for the Champions League next season. The Villans can also secure a berth by winning the Europa League this season.
Importance of Emery
Unai Emery left Villarreal for the Premier League side in November 2022 and the following summer, he raided his former club to sign Pau Torres. The move saw the defender leave his boyhood club for the first time in his career.
When asked how playing for Aston Villa changed his life, Torres explained: “I think that with Unai’s arrival, the club grew tremendously.”
“We went from fighting to avoid relegation, so to speak, to now aiming for European qualification every year. If we can qualify for the Champions League, even better. I think that’s something that will give the club a lot of stability when it comes to improving the squad.”
Torres’ stats, contract and value
The Spaniard has played 2,233 minutes from 37 matches in all competitions and 1,389 minutes are from 17 league matches.
Pau Torrs will have two years left on his contract after this season. His value, according to Transfermarkt, is €22m. He and his family have no plans to leave Aston Villa until 2028.