Report: Arsenal to sell Lucas Torreira to Torino for €24m

Arsenal have reached an agreement with Torino to sell Lucas Torreira for €24M (£22M) “in the last few hours” according to Calciomercato. If the move goes through, Torreria would rejoin head coach Marco Giampaolo, who coached him at Sampdoria before his move to North London. Torino look to be selling centerback Armando Izzo to Roma to help fund the move, which Calciomercato reports would be done in two €12M payments, perhaps as a loan with an obligation to buy.

Torreira has been linked with a move away from Arsenal for a while now, so in that sense, I’m inclined to believe the rumor. Calciomercato can be hit or miss, but they’re usually decent on Italian clubs. That Calciomercato seems to be the only source on this particular rumor gives me pause, though. I’m keeping an eye out for confirmation from some of the bigger journo names.

Torreira struggled to find his place at Arsenal. He showed flashes of what he could be, but the Gunners never really played him in the single holding midfielder role in which he shined in Italy. Instead, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta opted to deploy him in a double pivot or as a box-to-box, and he’s not that player. Having bought Torreira for £25M, the Gunners are basically recouping their money on the sale.

If this sale goes through, Arsenal will have generated more than £40M when combined with the Emi Martinez deal. From where I’m sitting, that means another purchase is in the offing. I think the Gunners have moved off Thomas Partey a bit, so I’d wager on Arsenal making a big offer for Houssem Aouar in the coming days.