On Italian TV on Tuesday night, Sampdoria’s president, Massimo Ferrero, let slip that midfielder, Lucas Torreira, will be joining Arsenal for €30m despite his release clause only being €26m.

“Sampdoria do not sell unless there are excellent offers,” Ferrero said. “We do not look for buyers. We have natural talents whose values increase exponentially.

“Generally, we do not make changes. Sampdoria is a stepping stone. It’s a family-run club and that allows players to grow up. It’s normal they have aspirations to play for big clubs, but I do not need to sell out.

“Torreira has left for €30million. I bought him from Pescara when no one believed. We bet and we won, paying just €3million. The money that comes in, is used to keep the club going.”

Just a few days ago it was reported that Arsenal’s medical staff were travelling to Russia in order to complete his medical. Arsenal want to get the deal done as soon as possible before Torreira has any chance of increasing his market value at the tournament.

Torreira will join Arsenal on a five-year deal worth £2.6m-a-year to the player. Arsenal will pay Sampdoria £26.1m for the 22-year-old, exceeding his buyout clause in order to see off Napoli.

In addition to his release clause, Torreira also had another four years to run on his Samp contract.

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.