Ones to Watch | Number 9: Pablo Torre; another young revolutionary

In a football world filled with countless stars of today, so many of us are curious about who is waiting in the wings. That search for that next wonderkid; a youngster that has the potential to make us stand up and marvel at how they are masters of their craft despite their tender age, is always on the minds of millions of fans around the world.

With this in mind, we at 101 Great Goals will be bringing you another weekly series taking a look at players across the world that are 21-years-old or younger. Some of them you will have no doubt heard of, while we hope to bring you a few new names to spark your curiosities every now and then.

 

Name: Pablo Torre

Age: 19-years-old

Position: Attacking Midfield

Place of Birth: Soto de la Marina, Spain

Citizenship: Spain

National team caps: 0 (capped at U19 level)

Current club: Real Racing Club de Santander

Current Market Value (per Transfermarkt): €3-million

Potential suitor(s): Barcelona

Barcelona is amidst a period of transformation that countless are supporting in full voice if you are in Catalunya or any Blaugranes enclave around the globe that has seen the La Liga giants reversal in 2021-22 under legendary midfield maestro Xavi in the wake of Ronald Koeman’s departure.

Barça struggled mightily under the iconic former Dutch international and sat ninth in the table, causing the club to correctly pull the trigger on calling time on their relationship with Koeman. In a bid to get back to their roots, Barcelona gambled on Xavi in a big way after the son of La Masia had only cut his managerial teeth in Qatar with Al Sadd but doing so in an impressive fashion.

It was clear that Barça had a long-term approach to once more build around the swath of talented youth in and around the first-team squad with members such as Gavi, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, Nico González, and Eric García. The additional winter singing of Ferran Torres only magnified the club’s plan – with Xavi’s approval – to return to youth and look toward the future. But with the club now on course to finish runner-up to rivals Barcelona when just six months ago there were fears they could miss out on Europe altogether, plans for the future continue alongside signings that hopefully will come in to bolster the first-team immediately; one of those signings of the future is 19-year-old Real Racing Club de Santander starlet Pablo Torre.

Pablo Torre is a pure spectacle. Today with another assist and was directly involved in both goals. Reached a double-double today. Racing officially with a promotion to LaLiga2 and Pablo is their biggest star. His impact, directness, and creativity make him a joy to watch. pic.twitter.com/YClGR3lKEv

— Piotr Guziński (@Nyctophile1_) May 1, 2022

A product of Racing’s academy set-up, Torre has already endeared himself to Los Verdiblancos faithful after being the leading light for the Cantabrian outfit this season as they earned promotion back into the Segunda División (LaLiga SmartBank) next season, scoring 10-goals and adding a further 9-assists in the league which helped Racing top the table.

Blessed with a fantastic ability to influence proceedings from set-pieces (which could immediately come in handy at Barcelona next season), technical craft befitting Barça status, creativity required to make an impact at the Camp Nou, and the ability to switch from possession to a direct approach makes him the perfect young canvas for Xavi and the staff at Barcelona to mold into another top young player to build a future around.

That same desire to acquire talented youngsters from outside the Barça sphere helped the club land fellow 19-year old Pedri from UD Las Palmas in the summer of 2020, with the rise of the full Spanish international being one of the talking points of Euro 2020 last summer when he shone under Luis Enrique.

Pedri González Pablo Torre.
Stats at last season before joining FC Barcelona.

Two Spanish Generationals
[@ProFutureStars1] pic.twitter.com/Ii45V2nxtd

— .. (@MisterCuler) May 2, 2022

The directive at the club is clear when it comes to propping up a youth movement under Xavi, but what still remains unclear is whether or not Torre will have a direct role to play for Barcelona next season.

At the time of writing, Spanish outlet Sport has tabled three possible avenues for Torre in what will be his first season on the books at Barcelona after the club previously agreed to terms to bring him to Catalonia this coming summer; promote him into the first-team setup, blood him at Barça B, or loan him back to Racing where he can continue receiving heavy first-team minutes at a club and in a system he fully understands.

It is a tricky decision that Xavi and his staff will have to make, and at the very least, reports suggesting that he is prepared to survey the youngster during their pre-season program at the very least should provide him a benchmark to assess what he feels the Spanish youth international needs.

The next few seasons could potentially make or break Pablo Torre, as it so often does for many gifted young players whose pathway to prominence is either aided or hindered by decisions that so often are not theirs to make.

But if his career to date is anything to go by, the influence he has shown in Cantabria will undoubtedly translate to Catalonia as long as Barcelona is allowed to do what they have historically done best.

If you missed last week’s installment, check out Ones to Watch; Kamaldeen Sulemana

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