Lucas Torreira Says Goodbye to Arsenal Ahead of Atlético Madrid Loan

Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira has said goodbye to his team-mates and is set to travel to Spain in the coming hours to seal a season-long loan to Atlético Madrid.

The 24-year-old hasn't featured for Mikel Arteta's side this season and has been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium all summer. Talks progressed well in the past few days and an agreement appears to have been reached.

Goal's Charles Watts states that Torreira said his goodbyes to his Arsenal team-mates on Friday, and he is expected in Madrid on Saturday to undergo a medical and put pen to paper on his move to the Wanda Metropolitano.

Arsenal had hoped to offload Torreira permanently to finance their own summer business, but the Daily Mail note that Atlético will only be taking Torreira on loan, although Los Rojiblancos have negotiated the option to sign the midfielder permanently next summer for around £22m.

On paper, this move looks like it should clear a path for Arsenal to land Atlético's Thomas Partey in return, but the two deals are understood to have been discussed separately and the Gunners are no closer to landing Partey than they previously have been.

Selling Torreira permanently would have gone a long way to helping Arsenal's transfer business this summer. Arteta still wants Partey but is reluctant to meet his £45m release clause, while a move for Lyon's Houssem Aouar is also proving difficult.

The French side want closer to £55m for Aouar, and it seems unlikely that the Gunners will find that kind of money in time for president Jean-Michel Aulas' deadline of Friday evening.

Arteta was prepared to offload Torreira after Granit Xhaka's re-emergence as one of Arsenal's top talents. The Swiss has formed an impressive partnership with Dani Ceballos in midfield, keeping Torreira out of the team for a large part of last season.

Mohamed Elneny has also returned from loan and played a part in the Gunners' Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool on Thursday, while Frenchman Mattéo Guendouzi has been cautiously welcomed back in from the cold after a clash with the boss towards the end of last season.

Rumours of a potential departure for Guendouzi still circulate, and it is thought that Arsenal would pull the trigger on the right deal - although the midfielder's exit no longer seems like the certainty it appeared to be a few months ago.


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Source : 90min