Arsenal have a preliminary agreement with Sampdoria to sign Lucas Torreira, as they’re willing to pay his €25m release clause, but agent fees complicate matters, according to reports.

Di Marzio originally broke the news that negotiations had begun for Arsenal to sign the midfielder. At the time they wrote that there was still no agreement, thanks to the agent’s demands, and he’s asked for more time to make a decision. That decision is expected by June 15th.

Following that story, SampNews24 wrote that agreement with Sampdoria is ‘already there’, and Arsenal are willing to pay Torreira’s release clause ‘immediately’. However, they also corroborated Di Marzio’s claim that the agent fees are getting in the way, for now.

It’s definitely in Arsenal’s interest to get a deal done before the World Cup. Torreira is heading to the tournament with Uruguay, and we all know how good performances on such a big stage can increase competition for a player’s signature ten-fold.

Thankfully, it seems the agent is planning to have made a decision by that stage, sometime in the next week.

Torreira has had an excellent season in midfield for Sampdoria. Although he only has five goal contributions this campaign in 38 appearances, it’s everything else he does that catches the eye.

He’s incredibly solid defensively, constantly making interceptions, tackles and blocks. He can take a good set-piece, play a pass, and rarely loses his concentration. He does have a tendency to take a long shot or two, like Granit Xhaka, but he’s fairly accurate when he does so. The Uruguayan also wins free kicks regularly.

Hopefully Arsenal can get a deal over the line in the coming days.