Arsenal Agree Deal For 22-Year-Old Serie A Midfielder – Report

Arsenal agree deal for Lucas Torreira according to reports in Italy…

Arsenal have agreed a fee with Sampdoria for midfielder Lucas Torreira as Unai Emery looks to add the missing pieces to his jigsaw, The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano reports.

Reports surfaced this week that talks were taking place between the two clubs, and it seems Raul Sanllehi has already concluded those negotiations.

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that Torreira had a £21.9m release clause in his contract, but we’ve agreed to pay a higher fee – £26.4m – in instalments over the next three years.

If true, it means we’ll only depart with £8.8m of our current summer budget, a budget many claimed is rather restricted following back-to-back Europa League campaigns.

Holding midfield is a position we all wanted strengthening this summer, though it’s rather surprising to see Emery go for a diminutive player.

It’s a common notion in England that a player of huge stature must operate that role, but it seems our new head coach has other plans.

How would you like us to set-up should Torreira arrive?