Arsenal’s medical staff have reportedly arrived in Russia to complete the signing of Uruguay’s defensive midfielder, Lucas Torreira.
A few days ago it was rumoured that the Arsenal team would arrive to complete a deal for Torreira before he had a chance to impress at the World Cup and increase his market value.
Luckily for the Gunners, Torreira was only used as a late substitute for his country as they won 1-0 against Mohamed Elneny’s Egypt thanks to a goal in the 89th minute, two minutes after Torreira was introduced.
According to reports from Italy, Arsenal’s medical staff are now in the country to complete the player’s medical ahead of a five-year, £26.19m, £2.6m-a-year move from Sampdoria. They also state that ‘Torreira will end the World Cup as an Arsenal player.’
Italian journalist, Fabrizio Romano, who has been close to this deal throughout the summer, said that the deal is ‘done’ when asked by an Arsenal fan about the transfer:
is done mate! But I don’t know when will be announced
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 13, 2018
As Lucas Torreira’s move to Arsenal from Sampdoria edges closer, we’re getting more details about what exactly the deal involves.
Most people will know by now that Torreira had a release clause of €25m with the Italian club, and a contract for another four years.
Arsenal chose to pay over the clause, agreeing a €30m (£26.4m) deal. One reason for that was to fight off competition from Napoli, and the other was so that they could pay in three €10m instalments.
According to The Guardian, Torreira will sign a five-year contract in North London, after Arsenal representatives travelled to Milan to agree personal terms with the player’s entourage on Tuesday.
In addition, Pescara will receive €1m from the sale, thanks to a sell-on clause in the midfielder’s Sampdoria contract. According to TuttoPescaraCalcio they had a 20% sell-on clause, with a maximum of €1m. It seems they didn’t anticipate the player being sold on for 30 times that amount.
Another Italian outlet, ANSA, claims Torreira will earn €3m a season with Arsenal. It’s worth keeping in mind Italian outlets tend to report earnings after tax though, and that’s probably the case here.