According to the Evening Standard, Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres has confirmed Arsenal have held talks with Orlando City over a potential January deal.
The 22-year-old is quoted by the newspaper as saying that Arsenal made contact with Orlando City before the World Cup but any proposed move was put on hold while he competed for his nation in Qatar.
However, now that he’s back with his club, Torres suggests transfer talks could be resurrected, with Arsenal looking to bring in attacking reinforcements before the end of the month.
Arsenal have been linked with a host of forwards including Serie A duo Tammy Abraham and Dusan Vlahovic after missing out on Mykhailo Mudryk, who joined rivals Chelsea over the weekend.
Mikel Arteta wants to add at least one new attacker to his ranks to take the burden off the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka after Gabriel Jesus was ruled out for several months with a knee injury.
Torres has emerged as a possible target and Arsenal saw his quality first hand when he scored against them in a pre-season friendly last summer.
Dream
It appears the South American would jump at the chance of joining Arsenal as he’s confirmed it’s his ‘dream’ to play in either the Premier League or La Liga.
Torres told 90min:
“Orlando City confirmed to me that there was contact with Arsenal, but then I left for the World Cup and I didn’t want to hear about a potential transfer at that point. So the conversation stayed there but now that I am back with the team, we will see where the conversation goes.”
“I would love to play in Europe. It’s a dream I’ve had since I was a kid. At the moment I am focused on Orlando City. But La Liga or Premier League would be my targets, and that’s where the rumors are coming from. But yeah, I would absolutely love that.”
The Uruguay international has established himself as one of the best young wingers in the MLS having bagged nine goals in 34 matches for Orlando City in 2022 to help his side win the U.S. Open Cup title.
Torres joined Orlando from Penarol last January and it didn’t take long for him to hit the ground running in the MLS. He represented Uruguay at various youth levels before he was promoted to the senior national team due to inspired performances where he bagged 29 goals in 54 games.
The youngster is valued at just £7m by Transfermarkt so he could be a shrewd addition to Arteta’s squad if he settled in England, but we’ll have to wait and see if talks progress over the coming weeks.
Read more: Arsenal ‘working’ on club record deal to sign £80m international star – reports
