“Unai is very important” – Player on decision to join Aston Villa, and club being ‘serious’

Spain international Pau Torres has told Marca that he’s pleased to have joined Aston Villa in the summer window.

The defender spent more than two decades at Villarreal before leaving them for the Villans, and the move saw him reunite with Unai Emery at Villa Park.

He has a goal and an assist to his name from 16 appearances, and that includes 11 league starts this season. Torres’ form for Aston Villa seems to have played a part in helping him make his first appearance for Spain this year, against Cyprus.

After expressing his joy at getting minutes with La Roja, the newspaper asked the 26-year-old about his decision to leave the La Liga side. When responding, he explained why Aston Villa were the right fit for him.

“Villarreal is my home, but I saw that something had to be done, that I had to go out, look elsewhere and the ideal place was the Premier League, and everything is going great,” he said.

“I have all the confidence of Unai, the coach who got the best of me long ago, the team is close to the top four, it is not by chance that the team is up there. Aston Villa are serious. It’s a reflection of good work.”

The centre-back has insisted the former Arsenal manager was one of the reasons why he picked the English club.

“Of course, of course. Unai is very important in every way. He brought out the best in me and understands me perfectly,” Torres explained.

Aston Villa are currently fifth in the table, trailing fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur by a point and three points behind league leaders Manchester City.

“The days go by and we are showing that it is not a flash in the pan, that there is important work behind it and that for the moment allows us to be at the top,” he added.

The Spaniard moved away from his country for the first time in his career and has stated the adaptation to his life in Birmingham hasn’t been easy so far.

“Adaptation is always difficult, it’s difficult. I left home, from Villarreal to another country, another competition, but I have had all the trust of the club, Unai and my teammates,” he added.

“We Latinos move together. There are Dibu [Emiliano Martínez], Diego Carlos, Álex Moreno, Douglas, Buendía, Durán… We get along very well, but above all, families get together when we are far away and handle the absences better. We are adapted and enjoying English football.”