FC Barcelona acquired the services of Ferran Torres from English Premier League club Manchester City to boost their attack in the current transfer window. The forward started regularly at the start of the season for the defending Premier League champions. He was injured back in September and has made no appearances since then. Let us look at some of his stats to know why Barcelona spent a huge amount on the youngster.
Pep Guardiola used him as the number nine in all the matches that he featured in. Torres made four Premier League appearances and one UEFA Champions League appearance this season. He scored two goals against Arsenal and managed to provide an assist in the same game. The 21-year-old Spanish International player attempted ten shots with a 40% shot accuracy rate. He took 25 touches inside the opposition’s penalty box and averaged more than six touches per match. Torres also made seven recoveries, and six were inside the opposition half. He has attempted 71 passes with an accuracy rate of 81.7%. His nine passes have landed inside the opposition’s penalty box.
The above viz is the shot map of Torres in all four appearances. Torres attempted six shots from inside the opposition’s penalty area, one from the edge of the box and three from outside the box. The goals were scored from the edge of the 6-yard box. The highest xG rate was against Arsenal as the player managed to score two goals in that match.
Ferran Torres featured as the number nine for Manchester City, and the above viz shows the pass received location of the player. The viz shows that Torres has not only stayed in the centre but also taken some wider positions in the matches. He has received 12 passes inside the opposition’s 18-yard box. Most of his touches are inside the opposition’s final third. Torres has also featured from the left for his former club Valencia as well as Manchester City. This shows that the player is flexible and can play wide as well as in the centre. Memphis Depay also plays a similar role for his team. He features in the centre and likes to go wide towards the left. These two can form a partnership and boost the attack of the Spanish club.
Barcelona had to fill in the boots of Sergio Aguero after the forward was forced to take retirement due to health issues. Torres has already played in the Spanish league before and brings in more experience he gained under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Xavi will look to get the best out of the forward player in the remaining half of the season.
