Lucas Torreira has reiterated his desire to stay at Fiorentina as the Serie A outfit struggle to reach an agreement with Premier League giants Arsenal, speaking to FanPage.
It was supposed to be a formality. Fiorentina agreed a fee with Arsenal many months ago, after all.
But the Gunners can hardly be blamed, really, the deal stalling after La Viola attempted to change the terms of the transfer, much to Arsenal’s understandable frustration.
As reported by Tuttomercatoweb, Fiorentina asked for a discount on the agreed fee of £13 million. What’s more, the Tuscany-based outfit are apparently reluctant to meet Torreira’s £65,000-a-week wage demands.
Hence, a situation some in Italy have described as ‘inexplicable’.
Will Lucas Torreira still leave Arsenal for Serie A?
“My intention is to stay at Fiorentina,” Torreira admits. “But the club will need to find an agreement with Arsenal. I am very happy in Florence. I am very happy in Italy.”
“This is where I matured. This is where I play in my natural role. I have to say ‘thank you’ to Fiorentina for believing in me at the beginning of the season. Working with a coach like (Vincenzo) Italiano has helped me grow again.”
After falling out of favour at his parent club – Unai Emery’s aborded attempt to re-constitute Torreira as a number ten remain as baffling now as they were back then – the diminutive Uruguayan is playing his best football in years at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
With five goals in 31 games, 2021/22 was also Torreira’s most prolific league campaign.
“(We had) a very positive year, despite the lack of qualification to the Europa League,” the midfielder adds.
Recent reports suggested that Juventus, Fiorentina’s arch rivals, could snatch Torreira from under La Viola’s nose. Torreira is one of a number of Arsenal players linked with the 2017 Champions League finalists, alongside Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhaes (TMW).
“The playmaker is the fulcrum of the team. So if the midfield is running smoothly, the whole side runs smoothly,” Italiano said in May. “This is one of the main principles of football.
“Lucas brought balance and has been prolific in front of goal too, showing his extraordinary quality. There are no doubts over what he can give this squad in future.”
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