Lucas Torreira has refused to comment on speculation linking him to Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, but he has confirmed his long-term goal to play for Boca Juniors.

Lucas Torreira has been linked with a transfer in the recent weeks and months, particularly over the international break after his agent admitted the midfielder is unhappy with the way Unai Emery is using him.

There doesn’t seem to be any specific club leading the race to sign him, just a general sense that he’s unsettled right now. As a result, the media have been throwing names at the wall to see what sticks.

The latest names are Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, and one journalist asked Torreira about the two clubs in quotes reported by Uruguayan outlet Sport890.

“Arsenal needs me to be focused right now,” Torreira said. “I can’t start talking about another team. I need to be focused and when the transfer window arrives we will see what will happen.

“I don’t know what can happen in the future. But I wish I could play in Boca. It’s a dream that I have for what that institution represents.”

It’s an interesting answer, in that Torreira appears to be trying to brush aside the speculation without actually ruling any of it out.

Rather than telling the media he’s focused on Arsenal, he’s telling them that Arsenal need him to be focused. Rather than putting an end to the transfer speculation, he’s just suggesting now isn’t the time to talk about it.

We’ve heard about Torreira’s love for Boca Juniors before, so that part isn’t new information.

It seems unlikely the 23-year-old would head back over to South America now though, with so much of his career ahead of him. He’ll probably still be capable of joining them in a decade.

It does appear the reports of Torreira being unsettled may well be true though, and it’s up to Unai Emery and Arsenal to improve and remind him why he joined in the first place.