Lucas Torreira agreed personal terms with Atletico Madrid this week, but the Spanish side don’t have an agreement with Arsenal yet.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Lucas Torreira and Atletico Madrid are in agreement on personal terms for him to join the club. The player is certainly keen on the move. However, Arsenal and Atletico still need to agree on the nature of the deal.

The Athletic recently reported that Atletico want a one-year loan with an option to buy. Arsenal prefer a permanent deal or a loan with an obligation.

Speaking on the Here We Go Podcast, Romano added (via Independent): “Torreira is out of Arsenal, he’s going to leave…[Arsenal] need to sell Torreira.”

In a further hint at the move, Mario Rebollo – technical assistant at the Uruguay national team – told Uruguayan outlet Tirando Paredes: “Lucas continues to train with Arsenal, but from speaking to him, his arrival at Atletico Madrid is imminent.”

In order for Atletico to even make the signing, they need to sell Hector Herrera first. It doesn’t seem like that sale is particularly close, though there is interest from Porto in re-signing their former player.

In the meantime, Lucas Torreira isn’t featuring under Mikel Arteta. He hasn’t even made the squad for a single match this season. The last time he played more than an hour in a competitive game was January 21st.

Arteta refused to discuss the player’s exit after Leicester City, saying only “I cannot discuss any internal things”. But he insisted he’s picking his squads based on merit.

“I am not making decisions because players might leave or stay,” Arteta argued. “It is just for the players we see every day who are in the best possible condition to compete and get us closer to winning football matches.”