Fiorentina hero David Pizarro hopes the Serie A club will sign Lucas Torreira on a permanent basis from Premier League giants Arsenal, speaking to Brivido Sportivo.
Pizarro is in luck, too.
Because, given that Fiorentina have already agreed a £13 million transfer fee with Arsenal, it seems only a matter of time before Torreira is putting pen to paper on a permanent, long-term contract at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
After falling out of favour at Arsenal, and following a difficult loan spell at Atletico Madrid, the Uruguayan has been a man reborn in Florence. Torreira’s even scored four goals in his 25 Serie A outings in Fiorentina colours. Hardly prolific, of course, but this is now Torreira’s best scoring season since 2015/16.
And Pizarro, who pulled the strings for Fiorentina between 2012 and 2015, always knew his fellow South American was capable of making a big impact under Vincenzo Italiano.
Is Lucas Torreira leaving Arsenal permanently?
“I remember that some time ago, I advised (Fiorentina director Daniele) Prade to sign Torreira,” says Pizarro, the former Chile, Roma and Manchester City man.
“I was sure he would be ideal for Fiorentina. He is a modern player and he always goes to a thousand. I hope he will stay in Florence.
“I like Torreira a lot. He is having a great season after not being able to express himself at his best in the last few years. He is returning to the levels seen with Sampdoria (the club he played for before that £26 million move to Arsenal after the 2018 World Cup).”
Torreira admitted recently that his agent held talks with the Fiorentina bosses in March, adding that he is ‘very happy’ in Italy. He is expected to sign a four-year deal.
Pablo Bentancur, Torreira’s representative, claims that Arsenal had hoped to use the diminutive ball-winner as a makeweight in a deal that would see Dusan Vlahovic move to the Emirates.
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Those hopes went up in smoke, however, when Juventus sealed their £62 million deal in January.
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