Lucas Torreira still in Arteta’s plans as he jets off for pre-season tour with Arsenal

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By Martin Graham | 10th Jul 2022

Lucas Torreira is apparently not out of Mikel Arteta’s ideas at Arsenal as he is part of the club’s roster for the pre-season tour in the USA.

The 26-year-old was reportedly inching for a move away from the Gunners this summer transfer window, having been on loan consecutively in Spain and Italy.

The midfielder first spent a year at the Wanda Metropolitano with Diego Someone and won the La Liga title, before he then spent a season on loan at Fiorentina.

The Madrid club decided not to sign him after his loan elapsed, and the Uruguayan joined Serie A club Fiorentina last season. However, even after an impressive spell in Italy, La Viola elected to not make his deal permanent. Both the player and the club hoped that the deal would go through to generate funds for the club. The player also was pushing for the move.

However, the move which was considered by Fiorentina appears to be off and the agent of the Uruguayan has hinted that his client could stay put at Arsenal. The speculation has also been fueled by the fact that the London club has announced the roster for their tour in the U.S with him included.

Torreira could now stay at Arsenal

In an interview with Tuttosport, his agent said: “Torreira would like to stay and play in Italy but as of today, Arsenal have called him up for the tour they will do in America, so it looks like he’s part of their plans.”

With Arsenal recalling the 26 year old for the tour in the U.S, it seems that Arteta has changed his stance on the player. The Uruguayan himself stated that he was likely to move from the Emirates, and the changes of him staying were very slim.

In an interview earlier this summer, he said: “Chances of staying? None. From the beginning they told me that I had no place, so my desire is not either to stay since I suffered a lot, it cost me a lot to adapt”.

He enthused: “Any team that wants me has to buy my contract, which today has a value of approximately €15million (£12.7m).”

Lucas Torreira joined the Gunners in 2018, in a huge transfer from Sampdoria. Under former manager Unai Emery, he was a consistent starter and he made 89 appearances and netted 4 times for the North London club.