ARSENAL HAVE CONFIRMED the signing of midfielder Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria.
The Uruguay international completes his move to the Premier League club following the completion of the 2018 World Cup, with his country reaching the quarter-finals.
It’s understood that the Gunners have paid £26 million (€30m/$34m) for the 22-year-old, who becomes the club’s fourth signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Berndt Leno and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Head coach Unai Emery said:
“In Lucas Torreira, we have signed a young player who is a very bright talent in the game. A midfielder with great quality, I have enjoyed watching his performances for Sampdoria in the past two seasons, and we all saw him do very well for Uruguay in the World Cup.
“He is a young player already with good experience, but who wants to keep on growing.
“We welcome Lucas to Arsenal and look forward to him joining us soon for pre-season.”
Torreira, who has only won eight caps for his country, featured in every game as Oscar Tabarez’s side reached the quarter-finals, where they were beaten 2-0 by semi-finalists France.
The wait is over… it's #TimeForTorreira 👍
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) July 10, 2018
Welcome to Arsenal, @LTorreira34 🔴 pic.twitter.com/wnUDYuDMeS
The midfielder made a total of 74 appearances for the Serie A side, scoring four goals.
He will wear the number 11 shirt in north London, and will link up with his new team-mates following a post-World Cup break.
Torreira is unlikely to be the Gunners’ final signing of the summer, with the club also pursuing a deal for Lorient’s Matteo Guendouzi.
Guendouzi is able to play in defensive midfield and made 18 appearances in Ligue 2 last season, while the fee is likely to surpass €8m (£7m/$9.4m) plus bonuses.
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