Arsenal had to work to get this transfer over the line.
Sampdoria have confirmed that an agreement has been reached to sell Lucas Torreira to the Gunners, making him Unai Emery’s fourth signing since taking over from Arsene Wenger at the beginning of the summer.
The details of the contract have not been revealed but it’s understood that the deal is worth around £22 million.
Torreira wanted to wait until Uruguay’s involvement in the World Cup came to an end before he put pen to paper on his next move but last week’s defeat to France opened the door for the Gunners to close out negotiations.
We're excited to have you with us, @LTorreira34 👊#WeAreTheArsenal 🔴https://t.co/vKUK48McMZ
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 10, 2018
The defensive midfielder will join new arrivals Bernd Leno, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos for preseason training after a short summer break.
“In Lucas Torreira, we have signed a young player who is a very bright talent in the game,” Emery said. “A midfielder with great quality, I have enjoyed watching his performances for Sampdoria in the past two seasons, and we all saw him do very well for Uruguay in the World Cup. He is a young player already with good experience, but who wants to keep on growing. We welcome Lucas to Arsenal and look forward to him joining us soon for preseason.”
It’s been reported that Napoli were briefly front-runners for the 22-year-old’s signature but Arsenal made a statement of intent by responding to Napoli’s approach with an improved contract offer which will see Torreira earn £1.7 million more per season than he would have under Carlo Ancelotti in Naples.
