Lucas Torreira’s agent claims that Arsenal are ‘angry’ after missing out on the Uruguayan’s Fiorentina team-mate Dusan Vlahovic, speaking to Sport890.
When it came to one of the most coveted strikers in European football, it seemed that Mikel Arteta had a Torreira-shaped ace up his sleeve.
If Fiorentina want to sign the Uruguay international on a permanent basis when his loan deal comes to an end – and they most certainly do – then surely Torreira would have been a very handy bargaining chip as Arsenal looked to tie up a deal for his La Viola team-mate.
At least, that was the theory.
Arsenal agreed a £62 million fee with Fiorentina before Christmas. But that was the easy bit. Convincing Vlahovic to leave Italy, for a club unable to offer European football, proved to be an altogether harder task.
“Now, Arsenal are a bit angry because they wanted Vlahovic,” explains Bentancur.
The free-scoring Serbian would join Juventus during the January transfer window instead, becoming the third player in less than five years to leave Fiorentina for their most-hated rivals.
Will Arsenal regret missing out on Dusan Vlahovic?
“Fiorentina wanted to sell him but the agents said he had to go to Juventus,” Bentancur adds. “You always do what the player wants.”
Arsenal’s failure to land Vlahovic is unlikely to affect Torreira’s hopes of a permanent move to the Stadio Artemio Franchi however.
Vincenzo Italiano’s upwardly-mobile side have already agreed a £13 million fee for Torreira. The former Sampdoria ace will to sign a four-year deal at Fiorentina when the transfer window opens in the summer.
“Lucas is happy in Florence and I think they will sign him,” explains Bentancur. “He is one of the fans’ most-loved players.
“Fiorentina logically want to buy him because he is playing very well. He has returned to having impressive form and dynamism.”
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