Xavi chose Ferran Torres over Olmo for Barcelona for one major reason

Barcelona will kickstart the January transfer window with a bang as they are set to complete the signing of Ferran Torres from Manchester City.

The 21-year-old will be arriving at Camp Nou in a deal worth €55 million, becoming the second signing of the Xavi Hernandez era after Dani Alves, who signed on a free transfer last month.

With Barcelona having had issues with their attack due to injuries, a new forward had become a priority for the manager. Mundo Deportivo reports that Xavi had two options on his wishlist in Torres and Dani Olmo of RB Leipzig.

Both forwards are versatile in nature, able to play on the flanks or through the middle, which is what the manager was looking for. However, in the end, Xavi decided to go with Torres instead of Olmo due to the Manchester City star’s better goal output.

Since joining Pep Guardiola’s team last year, the 21-year-old has scored 16 goals in 43 matches across all competitions. Nine of those goals have come from the 18 games in which he was deployed as false nine.

In addition to his strong record with the Premier League champions, Torres has also posted very impressive numbers with the Spanish national team. Since making his debut for La Roja in September last year, he has a tally of 12 goals in 22 outings.

The former Valencia star scored six goals in eight games during the UEFA Nations League, helping Spain to the finals of the competition, where they lost to France.

In contrast, Dani Olmo has scored 12 times in 67 matches for RB Leipzig, while netting thrice in 18 international caps for Spain.

Torres’ impressive goalscoring feats with club and country convinced Xavi to lean towards signing him, the report adds. The Spaniard has been sidelined with an injury since October but has resumed light training and is expected to be fully fit by the time the second half of the season kicks off in Spain.