Arsenal Midfielder’s Agent Reveals How Close His Player Actually Came To Leaving In The Summer

Arsenal Midfielder’s Agent Reveals How Close His Player Actually Came To Leaving In The Summer

Lucas Torreira’s agent, Pablo Bentancur, has confirmed that Arsenal Head Of Football Operations Raul Sanllehi made it clear in no uncertain terms that the Gunners midfielder would not be allowed to leave for AC Milan in the summer.

At the time, Torreira’s former Sampdoria boss Marco Giampaolo had just been appointed manager at the San Siro, and the Rossoneri made Bentancur aware of their interest in the Uruguayan international.


However, when Bentancur told Sanllehi about the contact with the Serie A club, the Arsenal chief was quick to shut down any hope of a move back to Italy:

“There was an interest [from AC Milan] as well as other clubs [this summer]. But we got together with the Gunners’ general manager, Raul Sanllehi, and he immediately told us that for Arsenal, Torreira was not for sale – an adamant position. I also have to say that Milan did not present a real concrete offer.”

When asked whether Torreira does have his heart set on a return to Serie A at some point, Bentancur replied:

“Lucas follows Italian football with great interest. I can’t rule out anything. In Italy, he grew up as a player and as a man. He brings to heart his experiences at Pescara and Sampdoria.”

It is concerning that the player’s agent continues to talk publicly about the midfielder’s future. It was only last week that it was revealed that Torreira is not happy playing in a more advanced role under manager Unai Emery.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.