Unai Emery confirms Tottenham offer for Pau Torres rejected

Villarreal boss Unai Emery has confirmed that Tottenham made an offer to sign defender Pau Torres, but says the Spaniard will not be leaving the Yellow Submarines this summer.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in La Liga during 2020/21, winning the Europa League with his club before competing for Spain at Euro 2020 and at the Tokyo Olympics.

Torres' standout performances soon drew links to the Premier League; Manchester United rumoured admirers for a number of months. But with talk of that move dying down in the wake of Raphael Varane's arrival at Old Trafford, Spurs emerged as genuine contenders to sign him.

Now, former Arsenal boss Emery has confirmed in a press conference ahead of Villarreal's first La Liga game of the season that the Lilywhites did make an offer for Torres, but says that the offer "does not meet the player's requirements".

"Pau is a player from the house we love and we are open to his growth, so if great offers arrive and they are good for everyone, there could be a way out," he remarked. "We are aware that the player can grow, that they will arrive big teams and that these operations would also serve so that the team can grow economically and be able to sign.

"To this day we think that it remains because, although it is an offer from a weighty and important club, it still does not meet the requirements."

Spurs are looking to rebuild their squad this after labouring to a seventh placed Premier League finish under a combination of Jose Mourinho and Ryan Mason, and have made several ambitious bids for some of Europe's biggest stars.

But they ultimately failed to lure any of their targets to the Premier League, including Sevilla defender Jules Kounde - who intimated he held no interest in making the switch to North London. A move for Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has also gone quiet, despite his apparent willingness to leave Serie A.

Tottenham did get one impressive signing over the line, paying £47m for Atalanta centre-back Cristian Romero, but they remain in the market for another player in that position, having sold Toby Alderweireld and Juan Foyth.

90min recently confirmed that talks have been held with Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic, after his proposed to West Ham stalled. The Serbian's representatives has played hard ball over personal terms, though it appears he could be available for as little as £15m - having previously commanded an asking price in excess of £50m.