In collaboration with Goal, Voetbalzone regularly highlights young players who can go far in the future or who are already earning their spurs in (inter)national top football. This time, the focus is on Pablo Torre, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder of Racing Santander who can be admired in the Barcelona shirt from next season. The comparison with contemporary Pedri has already been made.
The 19-year-old had also appeared on Real Madrid’s radar after putting in an impressive run for Racing Santander at the third tier in Spain. As Barcelona’s rebuilding continues quietly under Xavi, there is no question who the club’s supporters see as a potential leader on the pitch at the Camp Nou for the next ten to fifteen years. Pedri has gone from relatively unknown outside of Spain to become the best midfield talent in global football in just 18 months. He was voted EURO 2020 Young Player of the Tournament along the way and won the Golden Boy award. So Pedri is only nineteen and his progress is lightning fast for a player of his age. While the ease with which he has mastered the Barcelona playing style belies the fact that he broke through from La Masia youth academy. Pedri made a name for himself at Las Palmas.
Given that Barcelona have previously managed to snatch a teenage sensation from the lower leagues, it may come as no surprise that they want to go for gold again. On March 4, it was announced that Pablo Torre will be taken over from Racing Santander for five million euros. Coincidentally the same amount that was paid for Pedri. Should Torre meet certain targets in Catalonia, the transfer amount could increase by another twenty million euros. But the original amount is nevertheless striking, because it concerns a player who has only acted on the third level. This season, however, it has become clear that Torre is already far too good for that level. In the 2021/22 season, he was involved in 15 goals for Racing Santander with hits and assists.
“When we talk about advancing certain processes with some players, Pablo is definitely one of those players,” said Aritz Solabarrieta, who made Torre debut at Racing Santander last year, in conversation with GOAL† “He has made huge strides this year. Last year he already stood out, but this year steps have been taken again. Physically, Pablo has gone through a development. He is still very young, but the evolution he is going through is really amazing.” This evolution was noticed not only by Barcelona, but also by Real Madrid, who fully competed for Torre’s signature. Real Sociedad and Wolverhampton Wanderers also followed the situation closely, before Barcelona handed Torre a four-year contract with a €100m escape clause.
The big question is: what makes Torre such a special talent? Since joining Racing in 2015, Torre has progressed through different age groups and impressed the coaches with his match intelligence, his composure on the ball and his set pieces skills. Solabarrieta got an eye on his development and promoted him to the first team in October 2020. The trainer saw Torre score four goals and five assists in the remainder of that season. “He is always in control of the ball and is always able to come up with good moves and passes,” said the now-departed coach. “In addition, he can read the game in a great way. Last year we asked him to come into the opponent’s penalty area more often and he does that now. Pablo has a good shot in the legs and is already responsible for all set pieces. His arsenal of weapons keeps growing, making him stand out from the crowd. He is nineteen and still developing, his game is also becoming more and more diverse.”
Torre clearly has the talent to become a real star at Barcelona. His biggest challenge next year will probably be finding his place in Xavi’s beloved 4-3-3 system. The teenager regularly plays as number 10 at Racing, where he seeks space behind the striker and thus dictates the attacking game. However, that position does not exist at Barcelona, although Pedri probably comes closest to such a role. “Pablo has always acted as an attacking midfielder in Racing’s youth and first team, with two traditional midfielders behind him,” explains Solabarrieta. “Because of the way Barcelona is playing, he will have to learn a new way of playing, both offensively and defensively. Given his game intelligence, I trust he will succeed. He can play centrally or as a false left winger, with the freedom to draw in. Pablo must be given time to figure out the mechanics of the team, as well as assign responsibilities to players in those positions. But Pablo has what it takes to live up to that.”
What exactly Barcelona plans to do with Torre is not yet entirely clear. When announcing his arrival, the club hinted that he will be fitted into the B-team. However, that was also said at the time about Pedri, who played everything but one game in LaLiga in his first season with Barcelona. It has also been suggested that Torre will remain on loan for another season for Racing, who will do everything they can in the coming weeks to secure promotion to the second tier. If he stays with Racing after a possible promotion, he will play at a higher level than Barcelona-B. “He’s a very intelligent player,” Solabarrieta complimented Torre once again. “And intelligent players always know what to do in the end. Despite having that innate football talent and being mentally all right, those are big words when we talk about Barcelona’s first team. He will need time to adapt.” Fortunately, Barcelona are now in a position to give Torre time to adapt. He may not be thrown in at the deep end like Pedri, but that doesn’t mean he can’t join him as a mainstay in Xavi’s resurgent team for years to come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYl3NHYJnw4