PSG: Omar Da Fonseca explains Ferran Torres’s hidden strength

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·20 September 2026

PSG: Omar Da Fonseca explains Ferran Torres’s hidden strength

Already highly effective since arriving at Paris Saint-Germain, Ferran Torres, 26, a PSG forward, above all possesses qualities that are less visible than his goals. In L’Équipe, Omar Da Fonseca focuses on the Spaniard’s intelligence in his movement and his unusual ability to find spaces where none seem to exist.

Da Fonseca: “He makes the space bigger”

“His great quality is that he makes different, intelligent movements. He manages to distract his opponents and get onto the ball like a thief. Even against fairly compact defenses, he manages to spot space that doesn’t exist. He makes the space bigger.”

That is probably one of the keys to understanding why Ferran Torres can have an impact without needing to touch the ball very often. Da Fonseca describes a forward who first acts on the opponents’ reference points: a run, dropping deep, or a change of direction can be enough to alter the defensive structure. For PSG, especially when space tightens up, this mobility offers a different solution from that of a number 9 whose only job is to occupy the center-backs.

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Da Fonseca: “He’s an optimist in front of goal”

“He isn’t very powerful, doesn’t have an extraordinary heading game or a supersonic shot. But he has instinct. And if he misses, he quickly heals the frustration. He’s an optimist in front of goal, and that’s important.”

The praise is all the more interesting because Da Fonseca is not trying to turn Torres into the perfect striker. On the contrary, he identifies his limitations before highlighting what makes up for them: instinct and, above all, that ability not to remain trapped by a missed chance. His six goals in his first five official appearances for Paris illustrate that confidence for now, even if such a rate obviously cannot be the norm over an entire season.

Da Fonseca: “He has that sense for spotting the exact moment”

“He’s not a center-forward, a Haaland or a Lewandowski. He needs to come out of the box from time to time to feel the ball. He has that sense for spotting the exact moment when he has to go there. And then he is capable of playing slowly at full speed; you don’t feel him being anxious in front of goal.”

Torres thus appears to be a number 9 guided more by movement and timing than by physical dominance. He is willing to leave the box to take part in the play, before knowing when to attack it again. This hybrid profile can be valuable in a Paris attack where positions are not fixed. In the end, Da Fonseca sums up his uniqueness quite well: Torres is not necessarily trying to impose his presence on the defense, he is above all trying to appear at exactly the moment when it can no longer control him.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.