Xavi on "natural talent" Pablo Torre after €5m Barça signing

Xavi on "natural talent" Pablo Torre after €5m Barça signing

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The Catalan club confirmed the signing of the midfielder on Friday

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez spoke about the signing of Pablo Torre after the club confirmed the Racing Santander midfielder will move to Camp Nou for an initial €5 million in the summer.

Torre, 18, could end up costing as much as €20m if a number of add-ons are met, with Xavi saying the teenager has the capacity to spend many years at the club.

"We have been following him a while," he said. "For me, he's a natural talent. He can play in midfield, wide, he's two-footed, has a great final ball, scores goals and is great from set plays. He's very young, 18, but he's a natural talent.

"He has the capacity to play for Barça for many years. It depends on him now, on his attitude, but he is a humble kid from a football family -- his dad played for Racing as well.

"It's a great signing for the present and the future. He will be in the first team dynamic but will play with the B team, in the style of Ferran Jutgla and Abde, if necessary because it's important at that age to play football. And it's not easy to get minutes in the first team at that age."

Real Madrid were also in the race to sign Torre and Xavi was asked how Barça managed to persuade him to move to Catalonia.

"That's a question for the kid," the coach added. "We explained the project, our style of football... we were honest with him. For me, he has the Barça profile. From there, the kid has made his decision. I don't know what other offers he had. It's more a question for him."  

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