Everton were reportedly interested in Lucas Torreira for over a year before he moved to the Premier League with Arsenal.
It might seem a lazy assessment to suggest that Lucas Torreira looks like exactly what Arsenal have been missing for the best part of a decade but there is certainly a great deal of truth to this rather brazen claim.
The Uruguayan produced one of the best midfield displays from an Arsenal player in recent memory as he dominated the second half of Sunday’s thrilling north London derby, highlighting the tenacity and technical ability that The Gunners have lacked for many a year in the centre of the park.
His brilliantly taken finish, putting the icing on the 4-2 scoreline, was just rewards for a fabulous display.
So it is easy to forget that well before Arsenal paid £26.5 million (The Guardian) for the former Sampdoria midfielder, Torreira was being heavily linked with Everton.
Tuttomercatoweb had claimed in March 2017 that The Toffees had sent scouts to watch Torreira in action for Samp. And Calciomercato claimed before he moved to the Emirates that the World Cup breakthrough star was still on Everton’s radar.
Now, with Torreira emerging as one of the Premier League’s most complete midfielders after just a few months in north London, it seems that the sky is the limit.
Could Torreria be Everton’s ‘one that got away’? It certainly looks like it, given that both Marco Silva and director of football Marcel Brands are in agreement about the club’s need for a dynamic and ferocious central midfield presence, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Mundo Deportivo claims that Everton are one of many clubs interested in the Lyon powerhouse Tanguy Ndombele but it is understood that he would cost around £63 – far more than Torreira would have set the Toffees back. In terms of value, quality and potential, Torreira looked like the perfect fit.
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