Today it was reported by Calciomercato that a deal has been struck between Arsenal and Torino to send Lucas Torreira back to Serie A where he will join Torino and his old coach from his days at Sampdoria.
The deal would see Arsenal net around £22m (24 million Euros) in the form of 2 payments spread over time. While some of the details are being ironed out, we are left waiting to see if this will be an outright purchase or a loan with obligation to buy.
While the second form seems a bit odd, if the end result is still £22m and Torreira’s wages off the books for this year, I don’t see much reason to complain. There is no suggestions for the entire fee being paid up front, but the £11-12m in funds now will certainly go a long way.
Coupled with the expected funds from an Emi Martinez sale, Arsenal will look to bring in an inexpensive goalkeeper to put the majority of funds toward their midfield targets. I still have fears they Arteta and Edu will be forced to pick between Aouar and Partey to bring in one of the two without the boost of a swap being involved to reduce upfront costs, but we will wait and see.
In the meantime, a farewell to Torreira may be coming. He came to North London and never seemed to settle in his personal life, reportedly did not enjoy life in London as much as Italy, and it was tough to figure out how to play him alongside Granit Xhaka. Torreira had a decent first year under Emery, but couldn’t repeat the feat and struggled to stay healthy or find time as last year progressed. It may not be the goodbye we had hoped, but he did help us reach a European final, even if it didn’t go our way.
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