Aston Villa’s Pau Torres has been speaking to Spanish newspaper AS, and one of the topics was this summer’s most controversial transfer so far.
Trent Alexander-Arnold arrived at Real Madrid under the shadow of disappointment from Liverpool fans. Many Reds supporters were left annoyed by the defender leaving on a free transfer, feeling it was something which had been engineered over a period of time.
There’s perhaps some truth in that. The Madrid media had made clear for a long time that Florentino Perez didn’t feel the player was someone his club should send a fortune to Liverpool for.
They paid a minimal fee to get him for the Club World Cup, but there was no way Madrid were going to pay something like €80m had Alexander-Arnold not run down his Liverpool contract.
One of the reasons for that is Dani Carvajal, with there still being a lot of faith in Spain around the 33-year-old. Before he picked up a knee injury last year – an injury which in itself will have aided Trent’s transfer – he’d fought his way up to be considered one of the best right backs in the world.
AS asked Aston Villa’s Pau Torres how he rates Alexander-Arnold, having seen him in action for Liverpool, to which he replied: “He’s a great footballer, with very good feet, a great passer with a magnificent cross and spectacular set pieces. Madrid will suit him very well because it’s a team that attacks a lot, and that’s what he likes most. I think he’ll adapt well.”
Then they wanted to know if claims about him being weak at defending are correct: “He’ll have to push himself harder in the toughest matches. It’s not his strongest quality, and he’s aware he needs to improve in that area.”
When asked who he’d pick between Carvajal and Alexander-Arnold, the Aston Villa player was sure: “Carvajal, of course. I hope he can return to 100%. When he’s fit, he’s the best right-back in the world. He’s very complete in every way, has leadership, and a commendable attitude.”
