Arsenal in talks over £26.5m deal for Uruguayan midfielder

Arsenal are reportedly discussing the possibility of signing midfielder Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria this summer. The 22-year-old is currently with the Uruguayan national side for the World Cup after a solid season with the Blucerchiati, where he made 38 appearances across all competitions.
According to Sky Sports, the north London giants are interested in securing a summer move for the tenacious midfielder but they are reluctant to pay the transfer sum in full. As such, there have discussed the possibility of paying £26.5m in installments rather than triggering the minimum release clause (£22m) written into the midfielder’s contract.
Torreira joined the Blucerchiati from Italian minnows Pescara three years ago but he was loaned backed to the Biancazzurri for the 2015/16 campaign in order to earn more first-team experience. Since then, the Uruguayan has been a constant figure at the Serie A club and his consistent performances have earned him a World Cup berth under Oscar Tabarez.
Judging by the recent wave around social media, Torreira has been compared with Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante for his workrate and ability to make game-changing tackles but besides this, the Uruguayan has proved to have an additional asset with his long-range passing skills. Despite this, a signing cannot be judged by the performance in a different league and a potential move to the English top-flight may truly bring out the overall qualities of Torreira, who has yet to start an international game for his national team.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are also lining up a move for a new shot-stopper to replace Petr Cech and Bayer Leverkusen’s Bernd Leno has been underlined as the prime target. The long-time Leverkusen servant has already hinted that he may pursue a fresh challenge elsewhere and the Gunners have supposedly begun talks with the Bundesliga outfit regarding a summer switch.