‘Incredible’: Arsenal target shines as he ‘carries’ his team to trophy

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Arsenal target Facundo Torres has been labelled an ‘incredible’ talent on the back of his talismanic performances for MLS outfit Orlando City, coach Oscar Pareja tells the club’s official website of his Premier League-linked forward. 

With Mykahylo Mudryk proving himself on the Champions League stage, with Alex Baena and Yeremy Pino now fairly well-established in La Liga, 22-year-old Torres feels like the most left-field of Arsenal’s attacking targets heading into the January transfer window. 

The former Penarol whizzkid has spent the entirety of his footballing career on the other side of The Atlantic, after all.

Torres’ exhilarating performances over in America, however, could pave the way for the Uruguay international to follow in Miguel Almiron’s footsteps; his agent admitting that talks will take place with Premier League leaders Arsenal sooner rather than later. 

Arsenal will enter negotiations with Major League Soccer star Facundo Torres

In 40 games, Torres has 13 goals and 10 assists. It’s the timing of Torres’ contributions that have made him such a fans’ favourite in Orlando, however; inspiring Pareja’s side to US Open Cup glory while firing them into the MLS play-offs with a pressure penalty on the final day of the campaign. 

“He carried the team to win the Open Cup. He carried the team,” says Pareja, blown away by Torres’ attitude and presence at such a young age.

“(At his age) it’s incredible. His maturity and humbleness. Orlando should be so happy to have a player like him here.”

The implication being, of course, that Lions supporters should enjoy Torres while they can. The versatile wideman, who is reportedly viewed by Arsenal as potential competition for Bukayo Saka (Standard), has been confirmed as part of Uruguay’s 2022 World Cup squad alongside Edinson Cavani, Fede Valverde, Luis Suarez and Darwin Nunez. 

“He’s good,” South American expert Tim Vickery tells talkSPORT. “Torres is a little playmaker. Very, very good one-v-one. The ball is tied to his feet. There is a swagger and a style (about him). I like him very much. 

“The Premier League will come as culture shock. But the MLS is much quicker than the South American domestic leagues, so he’s in a halfway house there.

“If he can hit the ground running, he’ll be a fans favourite. But I suspect that, if he does make the move, it will take him a bit of time to adapt.”