Sampdoria have confirmed that Lucas Torreira will join Arsenal for £26million this summer.
The 22-year-old midfielder is currently in Russia with the Uruguay squad for the World Cup and is expected to complete his move to Arsenal once the tournament has finished, according to club Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero.
Ferrero told SportItalia, as reported by Goal.com:
“Sampdoria do not sell unless there are excellent offers.
“We do not look for buyers. We have natural talents whose values increase exponentially.
“Sampdoria is a stepping stone. It’s a family-run club and that allows players to grow up. It’s normal they have aspirations to play for big clubs, but I do not need to sell out.
“Torreira has left for €30 million. I bought him from Pescara when no one believed.
“We bet and we won, paying just €3 million. The money that comes in is used to keep the club going.
“Sampdoria is a stepping stone. It’s a family-run club and that allows players to grow up.”
Torreira will become Unai Emery’s fourth summer signing, having already acquired the services of Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free from Juventus, Bernd Leno from Beyer Leverkusen for just under £20million, while it is thought that centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos is due to be confirmed in July.
Torreira will replace Jack Wilshere who recently confirmed he will be leaving Arsenal after a 17-year stay due to footballing reasons.
It will remain to be seen whether the Uruguayan will feature regularly for Arsenal with Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka likely to be Emery’s midfielder duo next season.
