Galatasaray have made ‘the best offer’ for Arsenal’s Premier League forgotten man Lucas Torreira with a decision to be made very soon, the Uruguay international’s agent Pablo Bentancur tells Haber Turk.
Bentancur might have presumed that finding a new club for his £26 million client would have been rather straightforward this summer.
For the first time since that excellent breakthrough season under Unai Emery in 2018/19, Torreira looked like a 30 million euro footballer again; Rolling back the years in Fiorentina’s iconic purple shirt.
But his Florence-based renaissance still wasn’t enough to convince La Viola to pay the £12 million required to bring a permanent end to Torreira’s rollercoaster Gunners career.
“We chose (Sofyan) Amrabat instead of Torreira,” director Daniele Prade explained in July. “And some of the things (new signing Rolando Mandragora) has, Torreira did not have.”
Will Lucas Torreira leave Arsenal for Galatasaray
Since then, a host of other potential destinations have closed their borders too. Former employers Sampdoria cannot afford him. Valencia, meanwhile, appear to have shifted their focus to Juventus’ Emirates-linked Brazilian Arthur Melo.
Suddenly, Galatasaray appear the most likely – if not the only – option for Torreira with less than a month remaining in the window.
“We haven’t signed with a (new) team yet,” says Bentancur. “But the best offer came from Galatasaray. We will make our decision in a short time.”
According to Calciomercato, Torreira has given the green light to a fresh start in Istanbul. He’s reportedly given the green light to a three-year deal worth £50,000-a-week with the 22-time Super Lig champions.
But, as Bentancur points out, nothing is signed just yet. Galatasaray have a number of alternative options on their radar too, including Chelsea’s £40 million misfit Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Paris Saint-Germain veteran Idrissa Gana Gueye is reportedly another target. Gueye, however, appears to be closing in on a return to Everton instead, with Frank Lampard and director Kevin Thelwell convinced that the 32-year-old still has a lot of juice left in the engine.
Torreira, meanwhile, has lost his number 11 shirt at Arsenal to Gabriel Martinelli.
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