Man City also in the market for centre-backs this summer
Thursday 30 July 2020 09:12, UK
Manchester City are close to agreeing a deal to sign Valencia winger Ferran Torres.
Talks between the clubs are at an advanced stage and discussions are centring around an initial fee of £20.9m plus bonuses.
City see the Spain U21 international as a replacement for Leroy Sane, who joined Bayern Munich earlier this month.
Torres, 20, has come through Valencia's renowned academy and scored four times in 34 appearances this season, as they finished ninth in La Liga.
He is considered one of Spain's brightest young prospects but Valencia have needed to sell some players to balance their books even before the financial impact of coronavirus.
Torres made his senior debut as a teenager during the 2017-18 season, going onto make 13 appearances in total that term. The following season he scored three times in 37 games in all competitions.
City are also in the market for centre-backs this summer and are interested in Bournemouth's Nathan Ake among a number of others.
Man City are expected to be busy as they look to regain supremacy in the Premier League from Liverpool.
The priority around recruitment will be in defence and, in particular, signing two centre-backs following their costly shortages last season while a new left-back will also be sought.
Two other very difficult challenges await: finding a successor to Sergio Aguero and the search for a new number 10 to replace Premier League legend David Silva.
The summer transfer window will run for 10 weeks from July 27 and close at 11pm on October 5. A domestic-only window for trades between the Premier League and EFL then runs from October 5 and closes on Friday October 16 at 5pm. Follow all the news and analysis on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms.