Arsenal Reportedly Looking to Secure Deal For Sampdoria's Lucas Torreira Through Alternative Means

Arsenal are continuing their pursuit of highly rated Sampdoria midfielder Lucas Torreira and they are reportedly attempting to negotiate a deal which would see them pay his £22m release clause in instalments.

The Uruguayan has impressed during his stay in Italy, so much so that he has sparked considerable interest from the Gunners. New manager Unai Emery is having to contend with a limited budget however, and paying an upfront fee for the 22-year-old may prove to be too costly for the north London club to be able to afford.

Arsenal are currently attempting to negotiate the signing of Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund for £16m, so funds will begin to become incredibly tight if Arsenal were to then go on to trigger Torreira's release clause.

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According to the Daily Mail, Unai Emery is planning to navigate around this potential issue by offering to pay the fee in regular instalments rather than in a lump sum. This could prove to be a shrewd piece of business for Arsenal if they were able to pull off the deal and it would allow Emery to continue his pursuit of other players to strengthen the current side.

The only stumbling block in the plan is that Sampdoria may be tricky customers to bargain with given their club president's previous comments surrounding Torreira's future.

He declared: “Lucas Torreira has a release clause. Everybody knows it. Whoever wants to take Torreira will have to work with that release clause, €25m.”.

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After making 38 appearances for the Italian outfit during the 2017/18 season, Torreira has earned a spot in Uruguay's 23-man World Cup squad this summer. Arsenal fans will undoubtedly be keeping an eye on him to see if he will be worth the money.