Lucas Torreira is in talks over a move to Krasnodar but has concerns about whether he should really swap the Premier League for Russia, as reported by Championat.
With all due respect to Krasnodar, a club who finished tenth in the Russian Premier League next season is hardly the dream destination Torreira had in mind when deciding to bring an end to his three-year spell at the Emirates.
The Uruguayan’s agent, Pablo Bentancur, told TMW on Thursday that the former Atletico Madrid loanee has offers on the table from France and Spain, while Lazio are also negotiating a deal that would see the former Sampdoria ace seal a dream return to Serie A.
So do not be surprised if those Krasnodar talks go no further.
Will Lucas Torreira leave Arsenal for Russia?
According to Championat, Torreira could turn down that particular approach in the hope that something better will arrive, most likely from a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
The hard-working midfielder, who burst onto the scene at the 2018 World Cup (in Russia, funnily enough), has endured a miserable couple of years – falling out of favour under Mikel Arteta before struggling for game-time in La Liga – but his reputation remains strong.
“In training he fights for every inch,” Arteta said after a 2-0 victory over Manchester United in early 2020, hailing the battling qualities of a man who some had tipped to fill a Gilberto Silva-shaped void in Arsenal’s stuttering engine room.
“He’s been superb.”
Unfortunately, consistency remained elusive for Torreira and it seems that he has played his last game for a club he joined for around £26 million three years ago.
Reports linking Sambi Lokonga, Eduardo Camavinga, Sander Berge and Guido Rodriguez with a move to North London suggest that the search for a replacement is well underway too.
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