Unai Emery pushing hard for Pau Torres

Bayern Munich are also chasing the 26-year-old but it is Villa, according to multiple reports in Spain, who have so far made the strongest overtures to the player.

Unai Emery is a huge fan of Torres having previously worked with the player at Villarreal and has been leading the efforts to convince him of the long-term project at Villa Park.

The deal will become more attractive if Villa, already relatively well-stocked at centre-back, can negotiate a cut-price fee.

Torres has a release clause of around £55million in his contract but with only a year remaining on the deal, the expectation is he will be allowed to leave for little more than half that amount.