Lucas Torreira edges closer towards a move to Atletico Madrid as Arsenal look to revamp their midfield

Arsenal midfield outcast Lucas Torreira seems set on a move to Spanish club Atletico Madrid. The diminutive Uruguayan footballer now looks like the fourth choice behind Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny and Matteo Guendouzi. Having been told that the player is not part of manager Arteta’s plans, his agent began looking for options across Europe this transfer window. And after links with Torino, Napoli and Fiorentina, it looks like his future would lie with ‘Los Rojiblancos’. But there are several pending angles to look at in this particular transfer before it can go through. 

First, the loan with an obligation to buy deal hinges on Atletico selling Hector Herrera. They are looking to sell him back to the club they signed him from – Porto. Once they have managed to offload him, they will decide whether or not to make Partey for sale amidst the loss of finances due to the pandemic. And since Arsenal are reported to have an interest in the Ghanian defensive midfielder, they might look for an arrangement to send Torreira the other way. Another possible option for Arsenal is to make a permanent sale and reinvest the funds in a potential new midfield signing, with the name widely linked being Houssem Aouar of Olympique Lyon.

Torreira was very good in his first season at Arsenal when he arrived in 2018 during what was the Unai Emery era. A tough combative midfielder, he did make some crucial tackles and interceptions and often manned the deeper areas of midfield with gusto.

However, he tailed off somewhere last season and ended up making just 17 starts in the league, and was majorly resigned to a squad player role. Now in a bid to receive more game time, he is looking for a move away from Arsenal. And by the looks of it, Torreira to Atletico Madrid could happen sooner rather than later.

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