New Manchester City signing Ferran Torres was inspired by David Silva when he started out at Valencia. (More Football News)
David Silva was an inspiration for Ferran Torres when the new Manchester City was starting out at Valencia as a seven-year-old
New Manchester City signing Ferran Torres was inspired by David Silva when he started out at Valencia. (More Football News)
Torres last week moved to City for an initial £21.1million, arriving as a replacement for Leroy Sane following his move to Bayern Munich.
The Spain Under-21 winger joined Los Che as a seven-year-old, when Silva was part of a strong Valencia side regularly featuring in European competition.
Silva left Mestalla for City in 2010 but had already made a mark on Torres.
"When I started at Valencia, he was enjoying his best time at the club," Torres told CityTV of Silva, City's outgoing captain.
"He was always an inspiration and then, when he moved to City, where he's been playing his best football, I've always admired him.
"Above all, [what I liked was] his ability to hold the ball, his capacity to make the final pass and his quality."
Asked what motivated him to join City, Torres highlighted the importance of manager Pep Guardiola in his decision.
He said: "Being part of the project the club set out to me. My aim is to grow as a player. I have a lot of room for improvement and the fact of having Pep Guardiola as a manager was a big factor too.
"It was crucial because he's one of the best, or I'd say the best manager in the world, and at the point I am at now in my career, he can get the best out of me.
"I'm always trying to improve. I always like to ask the reason why we do things and I think this is fundamental for improving and also because I think I'm young and I still have lots of things to improve."
Torres is confident he can quickly adapt to the Premier League after firmly establishing himself in the first team at Valencia in 2019-20.
"The truth is that English football is a bit more physical than it is in Spain, but I really feel I'm ready and I'm looking forward to getting going as soon as possible," he said.
"I'd say that I have more strength than speed. I also make good crosses, but above all I'd highlight my power and strength."