Arsenal have proposed the idea of including Lucas Torreira in a swap deal for Thomas Partey after Atletico Madrid opened talks to sign the Uruguayan midfielder, according to reports via the Express.
Torreira has been strongly linked with a move away from Arsenal this summer after struggling to hold down a regular first team place under Mikel Arteta with Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka his preferred pairing in midfield.
The 24-year-old had been expected to seal a move to Torino but the Express says the Serie A outfit have complicated the proposed £22m deal after demanding certain clauses be included in the agreement.
It looks like Torreira could now be heading to La Liga as the Express are citing a report from Spanish newspaper El Gol Digital that claims Atletico Madrid have now opened talks with Arsenal over a potential deal to sign the South American.
The report says Arsenal have put forward a proposal to Atletico that would see the North Londoners use Torreira in a player-plus-cash swap deal to finally sign long-term target Thomas Partey.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with Partey all summer after Arteta identified the Ghanaian international as the man to add some steel to his side but they’ve struggled to agree terms with Madrid.
According to the Express, Arsenal have refused to pay the full value of the 27-year-old’s £45m release clause and failed in an attempt to include out-of-favour Matteo Guendouzi in a swap deal earlier in the summer.
Arsenal will hope they have more luck this time around as Atletico have expressed their interest in Torreira so it would make sense for a player-plus-cash swap deal to be agreed between all parties.
Diego Simeone is reluctant to lose Partey but he needs to raise money to finance his own transfer plans this summer and Atletico may decide it’s time to cash-in as the midfielder has failed to sign a new contract.
We’ll have to wait and see how negotiations progress but it would be an excellent piece of business if Arsenal could get this proposed swap deal over the line before the window closes on October 5th.
If Partey does end up joining Arsenal, he’ll become the clubs sixth major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Willian, Gabriel, Dani Ceballos [loan], Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares – who both made their loans permanent this summer.
