Barcelona confident of signing 21-year-old, despite £38m bid falling short

Barcelona remain confident that they can sign Ferran Torres from Manchester City in January despite there being a considerable difference in valuation between the two clubs for the Spain international.

Xavi Hernandez has made signing an attacking player a priority during the January transfer window and Torres is top of his list. Barcelona's director of football Matheu Alemany along with CEO Ferran Reverter had visited Manchester to discuss a potential move for the Spanish forward, which City are willing to sanction at the right price.

City signed Torres from Valencia in the summer of 2020 for £23 million plus add-ons, and while they do consider him a key part of their future, Pep Guardiola is ready to sanction the move after the player expressed his desire to return to his homeland. However, Barcelona are not willing to match the Premier League club's £51 million valuation.

According to Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, the Catalan giants are only willing to offer £38 million for Torres. Barcelona, however, are not concerned about the difference in valuation, and are pretty certain they can find a compromise with City, especially since the former Valencia forward has made it clear that he wants to join the Camp Nou club.

Barcelona and Torres have already reached an agreement over a five-year deal, which the La Liga club are hoping will aid in their negotiations with City. The Catalans have until Jan 30 to complete the move, with Xavi keen to add a versatile attacker to his squad going into the second half of the campaign.

Apart from reaching a compromise with City, the Spanish giants also have their financial troubles to consider before bringing Torres to the Camp Nou. Due to massive overspending in recent seasons, Barcelona have an over inflated wage bill, and they will have to offload players to be able to register Torres in January.