President admits he was ‘close’ to re-signing £26m Arsenal man this year

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Sampdoria president Marco Lanna admits that a deal to bring Lucas Torreira back to Serie A was ‘close’ before Arsenal sold the Uruguay international to Galatasaray, speaking to Tuttomercatoweb. 

It was at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris where Torreira made his name. The snappy little South American shone in Sampdoria’s blue-and-white kit between 2015 and 2018, paving the way for Arsenal to stump up a £26 million fee after an impressive World Cup over in Russia.  

And, if Samp had a bit more financial muscle at their disposal, Torreira might have been returning to his old stomping ground this summer. 

La Republicca stated back in July that the Blucerchiati were hoping to strike a deal with the former Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina loanee. Torreira’s £65,000-a-week wages were reportedly well beyond Sampdoria’s means however. 

And while Lanna was reluctant to mention the exact figures, he does admit that Sampdoria missed out on Torreira for financial reasons. 

Lucas Torreira could have returned to Serie A from Arsenal

“It was close,” the president explains. “But then it is clear that (it was) a costly operation.

“He was an important player for us but we did not manage to match Galatasaray’s economic offer.”

Torreira eventually joined Galatasaray on a four-year deal last week, agreeing a cut-price £5.5 million fee with Arsenal. The 26-year-old will earn around £45,000-a-week in Istanbul. 

Sampdoria, in contrast, are operating under a restrictive wage ceiling; One that reportedly prevents them from paying more than £15,000-a-week for a single player. A gap that, with regards to Torreira, simply couldn’t be bridged. 

“Torreira had offers from very big clubs,” Galatasaray’s deputy chairman Erden Timur tells Haber Turk.

“We were working on this transfer for 20 to 25 days. We got the players (Torreira and Napoli legend Dries Mertens) through a lot of persuasion. If you don’t do this, you can only persuade them with money. That’s why it takes a long time.

“For Torreira, Arsenal started (demanding) 18 million euros. Sometimes, patience is needed. Lucas said he would come two days before he left (Arsenal). One day before, he said to my coach; ‘I’m coming’.”