Transfer rumours: Torres to Villa, Willian future, Chukwueze to Milan

The Spain international rose to prominence under Unai Emery and was understood to be on the radar of several top clubs after helping Villarreal win the Europa League in 2021.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were previously linked with a swoop for Torres, whose contract with the Yellow Submarine only has another 12 months left to run.

As a result, the La Liga outfit have resigned themselves to losing Torres this summer, and according to the Daily Mail, the centre-back's switch to Villa Park is on the cusp of completion.

The report states that the Lions will fork out £33m for Torres, whose signing is expected to be confirmed on Monday or Tuesday as he prepares to reunite with his former Villarreal head coach.

Torres has amassed 12 goals and five assists in 173 games for the Yellow Submarine in all tournaments and is set to become Villa's second signing of the summer window after Youri Tielemans.

Keeping with the theme of potential Villarreal exits, AC Milan are understood to be pushing for the signing of Nigerian attacker Samuel Chukwueze from the Yellow Submarine.

As is the case with Torres, the 24-year-old could also walk away on a free transfer at the end of next season, and he has supposedly decided that he wants to advance his career elsewhere.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Real Madrid have all been linked with a move for Chukwueze, but none of those three clubs is considered a realistic destination for the winger this summer.

Instead, The Athletic claims that Milan have come forward with an offer of €25m (£21.3m) for Chukwueze, who will be allowed to leave for the right price given his contract situation.

The report adds that Chukwueze had already agreed personal terms with the Rossoneri, who are also hoping to strike a deal with Chelsea for USA winger Christian Pulisic.

Chukwueze registered 13 goals and 11 assists in 50 games for Villarreal during the 2022-23 campaign, taking his total for the club to 37 goals and 31 assists from 207 games since joining in 2017.

Over at Craven Cottage, Fulham are reportedly stepping up their efforts to keep hold of Willian following his unexpected Premier League revival in the 2022-23 season.

Having failed to make the grade at Arsenal, the 34-year-old returned to boyhood club Corinthians in the summer of 2021 but spent just one year in his homeland before Marco Silva's side came calling.

Willian penned a one-year deal at Craven Cottage and enjoyed a marked upturn in fortunes last season, scoring five goals and setting up six more in 27 Premier League games to help Fulham finish in the top half.

The ex-Chelsea man is officially a free agent after his contract expired at the end of June, and he is believed to have already turned down one offer of an extension.

However, iG Esporte reports that Fulham have now come forward with a new-and-improved offer in a bid to keep Willian at the club, and Silva in particular is pushing to keep the attacker on the books.

The outlet adds that Willian is not expected to come to a decision for another few days, but the South American's preference is to remain in the Premier League amid interest from other top-flight clubs.

Finally, Wolverhampton Wanderers are reportedly planning to offer defender Max Kilman a new contract in order to ward off interest from Napoli.

The Serie A champions are believed to have identified Kilman as an ideal successor to South Korea international Kim Min-jae, who is on the verge of joining Bayern Munich.

Napoli have supposedly already failed with one £30m bid for Kilman, whose terms at Molineux run until the end of the 2025-26 season, with the option of an additional 12 months.

While Wolves are protected by Kilman's contract situation, the Express and Star claims that the West Midlands outfit have offered the 26-year-old a new-and-improved deal in the hope that Napoli will back off.

The Italian giants are expected to come back with a second offer either way, but Kilman is believed to be happy at Wolves, where he has scored one goal and set up two more in 107 games since joining from Maidenhead United on a free transfer in 2018.

Wolves have already lost two centre-backs this summer, as Nathan Collins has signed for Brentford in a club-record deal, while Conor Coady has departed for Leicester City.