Lucas Torreira to Fiorentina transfer rumor picking up steam

While Arsenal have been busy securing a number of transfers during the summer window, player sales have been at a bit of an impasse. Outside of Roma’s acquisition of Henrikh Mkhitaryan for nothing, there hasn’t been a sense of urgency by the club to offload surplus players during what could be a defining transfer window for the beginning of Mikel Arteta’s career.

We have known for a while that Arteta’s vision involved a rebuild of the roster. The signings of Gabriel and Willian have been a welcome bit of business, but without much cash in hand and continued interest in the likes of Thomas Partey and Hassem Aouar, Arsenal are hitting a financial wall. It seems, however, that the first bit of outgoing business could be happening soon, as Serie A side Fiorentina has reportedly come to an agreement with Arsenal over midfielder Lucas Torreira.

The deal appears to be a loan with an obligation to buy, which would see Arsenal receive €8m upfront for the loan and an additional €16m later with the purchase. That sum, while not a tremendous amount, is still another big chunk toward meeting Atletico’s £50m release clause for Thomas Partey, who has been the primary target for Mikel Arteta since taking over at Arsenal.

It’s bittersweet to see Torreira leave, but understandable. While he came out of the gates with a flurry of gutsy performances in Arsenal’s midfield under Unai Emery, he never regained that same form under Arteta, which was further delayed by an ankle fracture in the spring. Match time was few and far between after his recovery, and his playing style doesn’t seem to be ideal for Arteta’s vision for the club. With any luck, he will get back to terrorizing opposing attackers in the midfield soon.

Torreira has spoken in the past about his love of playing in Italy, and it appears that he will see his wish granted.