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‘Good team’ – South American responds to reports he’s joining Arsenal in £26m deal

By on June 21, 2018

According to quotes supplied by TeamTalk, Lucas Torreira has responded to reports he’s agreed to join Arsenal in a £26.5m move from Sampdoria this summer by praising us as one of the best teams in the world.

Torreira has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal in recent weeks after emerging as Unai Emery’s key target as the new boss looks to bring in a proper defensive midfielder this summer.

We haven’t had someone to protect the back four for years as Granit Xhaka is more of a deep lying playmaker and Francis Coquelin [before he left] and Mohamed Elneny haven’t been up to the task when called upon.

With Santi Cazorla off to Villarreal and Jack Wilshere leaving when his contract expires at the end of the month, Emery has decided to revamp his midfield and he’s identified Torreira as the man to add some much-needed ‘bite’ in the middle of the park.

After weeks of speculation it looked like a deal was done as Gazzetta dello Sport claimed last week that Arsenal had agreed a fee worth £26.5m and Torreira had settled on terms over a five-year contract.

Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero appeared to confirm the news earlier this week after saying that Torreira had left the club in a £26.5m deal so it looked like all that was left was for the transfer to be announced.

Torreira is currently at the World Cup with the Uruguay squad and he’s now spoken out for the first time about the Arsenal rumours, and he’s not exactly denied he’s on his way to north London.

The 22-year-old said he didn’t know if the deal was done as he’s concentrating on the World Cup but called Arsenal one of the best teams in the world.

Speaking after Uruguay’s 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia, when asked if he had joined Arsenal, Torreira is quoted by TeamTalk as saying:

“I don’t know. Arsenal are a good team, one of the most important in the world, but at this moment I am focused on playing for my country.”

If there was nothing in the reports he would simply have denied all knowledge of Arsenal’s interest so it’s safe to assume Torreira is on the verge f moving to the Emirates this summer.

MORE: Arsenal eyeing bargain swoop for Mexican star

I expect the transfer to be formally announced once Uruguay exit the World Cup and he’ll be an excellent addition to the squad as he’s axactly the type of ‘nasty’ defensive midfielder we haven’t had in recent years.