Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed Pablo Torre is available to loan in a statement which should give Rangers plenty of food for thought.
According to the Daily Record, Rangers missed out on 20-year-old Pablo Torre when the La Liga champions snapped up the so-called ‘new Pedri’ in a £4 million deal from Racing Santander last summer.
But, having struggled to oust the exceptional Gavi and the aforementioned Pedri from the heart of Xavi Hernandez’s Camp Nou engine room, could Mick Beale’s Glasgow giants be tempted to pick up where they left off a year ago? Especially with Barcelona opening the door for a short-term departure?
“We are working on a loan move for Pablo Torre,” Laporta tells Esport3.
Rangers are big fans of Barcelona’s Pablo Torre
Torre, capped by Spain at U21 level, played eight times as Barca claimed the La Liga title last term but was only included in Xavi’s starting XI on one occasion.
While the departure of Sergio Busquets suddenly opens up an extra place in the Blaugrana side, it seems that Barca would prefer to send Torre out on loan instead, in the knowledge that first-team opportunities may be limited again in 2023/24.
The question, however, is whether Torre would actually be better off at Rangers. The hustle and bustle of the Scottish Premiership is not for everyone; Amad Diallo struggled at Ibrox before shining south of the border at Sunderland.
What’s more, despite the loss of Malik Tillman, Rangers are not exactly short of talented attacking midfielders who would probably consider themselves most effective in something of a ‘number ten’ role. Beale has Todd Cantwell, Ianis Hagi and the returning Tom Lawrence at his disposal.
New £3 million signing Sam Lammers has also played some of his best football while dropping into a deeper role.
Torre shot to fame after scoring 10 goals and setting up 11 in Spain’s second tier for Racing Santander. Form that caught the eye of Rangers before Barcelona came calling.
“We have been following him a while,” Xavi said at the time.
“For me, he’s a natural talent. He can play in midfield and out wide. He’s ambidextrous. (He) has a great final ball, scores goals and is great from set plays. He’s very young, but he’s a natural talent.”
