After winning a penalty on the final day of the season to earn Fiorentina European football, Lucas Torreira is set to return to Arsenal.

In a surprising twist in the tale of Lucas Torreira’s loan to Fiorentina, it seems he’s not set to join the Serie A club this summer.

Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Fiorentina are not set to activate their €15m option to sign Torreira. Instead, he’ll return to Arsenal, at least for the time being.

Fiorentina reportedly felt the conditions for Torreira’s redemption were no longer there, whilst the player has other ideas for the continuation of his career.

This is a bit of a shock, given the success of Torreira’s loan spell. The midfielder made 35 appearances and won three Fiorentina Player of the Month awards in the last four months.

Clearly, no one in the Fiorentina squad has been as popular with the fans as Torreira in 2022.

On the final day of the Serie A season, Torreira won a late penalty to help Fiorentina make it 2-0 against Juventus. The win secured European football for Fiorentina for the first time in six years, and they’ll play in the Europa Conference League next season.

With Torreira playing another pivotal role in another crucial result for Fiorentina, a result that brings them the financial boost of playing in Europe, it seemed like a transfer was more likely than ever.

Yet today’s reports suggest the move isn’t happening at all.

Perhaps it’s simply a negotiating tactic by Fiorentina, and they hope to bring Torreira’s price down from the €15m they originally agreed.

But that seems like a risky play, as Torreira is easily worth that €15m fee.

I’d imagine a number of top clubs will consider a move at that price, and Arsenal themselves may even think about keeping the 26-year-old.

Whatever happens next, this update has certainly opened up a summer of speculation.