Arsenal fans have welcomed midfielder Lucas Torreira to North London ahead of his proposed move from Sampdoria.
The midfielder is just ‘days away’ from completing his switch to The Emirates, according to reports.
The Gunners have agreed a €30m (£26.2m) fee with the Serie A side for the midfielder, leaving only a medical and personal terms to be agreed.
Torreira is currently in on international duty at the World Cup with Uruguay, meaning Arsenal officials will fly to Russia to complete the formalities in the coming days.
According to the Daily Express, Arsenal could then announce Torreira’s arrival before Uruguay’s clash against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday afternoon.
The £26.2 million to be paid for Torreira’s signature surpasses the £22 million buy out clause in his contract, however Arsenal are paying over the odds in order to spread the cost, allowing them to pay only £8.6 million a year over three seasons.
Manager Unai Emery was given only a £50 million budget to spend this summer, so is having to carefully manage his transfer business to in-keep with the tight allowance given to him by club owner Stan Kronke.
Torreira is widely considered to one of the most promising defensive midfielders in Europe, and it seems the Arsenal fans cannot wait to see what he has to offer next season …
https://twitter.com/moleyfootball/status/1006650663445630976
https://twitter.com/HenryM131/status/1006684326044618752
https://twitter.com/nowarsenaI/status/1005835662740815872
Stephan Lichtsteiner – Free
Gelson Martins – Free
William Carvalho – Free
Sokratis Papastathopolus – £16m
Lucas Torreira- £22m
Caglar Soyuncu – £35m
Bernd Leno – £22mWhat a window that would be for Arsenal #afc
— André (@AFCFahey) June 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/MHaywxrd/status/1007016667552022529
Don’t think Arsenal and Premier League fans fully understand how big of a gem Lucas Torreira really is
— Maxi (@MaaxiAngelo) June 12, 2018
We'll witness something similar to Behrami-Xhaka next season at Arsenal.
Xhaka's control over midfield & Torreira's tackling, tracking, pace will make Arsenal lit !— R (@ArsenalH49) June 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1006656244092989440
The New Little Magician in Arsenal? Lucas Torreira. https://t.co/hWTdzLKjaQ
— Gooners Report Indo (@Gooners_Report) June 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1006627163918012416