Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira looked certain to join Fiorentina on a permanent deal but according to journalist Charles Watts, this move might eventually collapse.
Lucas Torreira has been a flop at Arsenal which is why he was sent out on loan to Fiorentina last season and the midfielder has had a pretty steady campaign with the Serie A side. He played in 31 league matches for the club, scoring five and assisting goals.
Fiorentina are more than willing to hold onto him in a permanent deal but according to Watts, financial troubles might force the Italians to back off. Fiorentina’s purchase clause has already expired and a transfer is looking more unlikely with each passing day.
He said on his YouTube channel: “I think the expectation, as we came towards the end of last season, was that that was going to be a move that was made permanent, because he’d been doing so, so well. He seemed very happy there, Fiorentina fans absolutely loved him; Fiorentina seem to love him.
“But as the season’s ended, it’s beginning to look more and more difficult – as usual, because of finances. I think Arsenal are looking for about £12.5m – or that’s the figure that I’ve seen bandied around, I’m not sure if it’s right or not.
“Fiorentina are struggling to come up with the money to be able to make that move permanent.
“This is a situation that Arsenal are going to find time and time again this summer, and they’re going to find it very difficult to shift on these types of players.”
Pablo Bentancur (Lucas Torreira’s agent): “It’s not over yet, but the chances of Lucas staying in Florence are very small. There is a contractual problem with Fiorentina & my priority is to find an agreement with them so he is not thinking about other teams for now.” #afc pic.twitter.com/bLLcNrmC1E
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) June 1, 2022
Will Arsenal have problems if they can’t sell Lucas Torreira?
If Fiorentina cannot buy the 26-year-old then Arsenal have the choice to send him back to the club on yet another loan deal, this time with an obligation to buy.
However, even if Arsenal are forced to hold onto Lucas Torreira, it might not be the end of the world for them because Mikel Arteta is working with a very small squad.
He’s managed to get rid of most of the unwanted players so if Torreira remains at Arsenal the manager will be able to use him in all the undesirable games. This will also mean that Arsenal won’t have to spend extra money to buy a spare midfielder.
Since the Gunners will be playing in the Europa League, they will have to play many tricky opponents, games where it will be a risk using the first-choice midfielders and in those matches, someone like Lucas Torreira can very easily fill in.
Also, Arsenal have valued the midfielder at only £12.5m so if Fiorentina completely back off several other clubs might show interest in signing Torreira.
