'I'll be' - 16-goal forward responds to Newcastle United £15m bid claim

A source in Spain, Jijantes FC, claimed earlier this month that Newcastle United had submitted a £15million plus £5m in adds-on bid for the 24-year-old, however the story was quickly shut down by figures close to Newcastle. The fee was suspiciously low consider Barca paid £47m for his services.

Torres previously played in the Premier League for Manchester City for 18 months between 2020 and 2022, and memorably bagged a hat-trick in a 4-3 victory at St James’ Park. In total, he scored 16 goals in 43 appearances, winning both the league title and Carabao Cup, before requesting a move back to Spain.

The Spaniard has featured 113 times in two-and-a-half years at Barca following the emergence of 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, while former Leeds United winger Raphinha was preferred on the opposite side. It has led to speculation over an potential exit and return to England but Torres has responded.

When asked about his future and the links to Newcastle, Torres told RAC1: “I’ll be staying at Barcelona next season. It’s not that I just want to remain here, but rather that I’m going to stay.”

Newcastle are in the market for the right forward this summer but there are doubts over how serious their interest is in Torres. Before plotting a move, the Magpies are focused on offloading players first with Yankuba Minteh subject to European interest while interest from Saudi Pro League teams in Miguel Almiron still stands.

Eddie Howe’s side are under the restriction of Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and may have sell a player before June 30 to balance the books.