Manchester City News: Sky Blues Officially Lock Up Torres To Take Sane's Spot

As expected, Manchester City signed rising young star Ferran Torres. The Sky Blues locked up the Spain U21 national to a five-year deal, making him the first official summer signing of Pep Guardiola. Torres joined for an initial fee of $27.3 million and will be under contract until 2025.

According to Sky Sports, City made a move for Torres following the departure of Leroy Sane. Sane is now with Bayern Munich and the Sky Blues started to look for replacements. Torres plays a bit similar to Sane, someone who has been branded as unpredictable. He can play at either flank.

Torres is considered one of the brightest young prospects and comes from the Valencia CF academy. He scored four goals in 34 appearances last season as Valencia finished ninth in La Liga. He is also one of few players to have played in 100 games before reaching the age of 20.

Valencia already had plans of selling Torres even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bats were already dealing with budget problems and the club needed to sell off some players to balance their books.

Torres is looking forward to playing for City, aware of the success the club has had in the past 10 years. He hopes to be part of that success moving forward.

"I am so happy to be joining City. Every player wants to be involved in attacking teams and Manchester City is one of the most attacking in world football," Torres said via the Manchester City website. "Pep (Guardiola) encourages a really open, aggressive style, which I love, and he is a manager with a proven track record of improving players. To have him overseeing my development is a dream."

City Director of Football Txiki Begiristain admitted that they have been keeping tabs with the progress of Torres as well and are impressed. His unpredictable nature on the field is one of the reasons that piqued the interest of Guardiola.

“I feel this is the perfect place for him to develop and with Pep in charge he can take his game to the next level,” Begiristain said.

With Torres signed, City now focuses on other available center-backs. Nathan Ake is of Bournemouth another player on their radar. The Cherries are seeking $51 million for the French national but City is waiting to see if Bournemouth is open to lowering that price.