Arsenal loanee Lucas Torreira has reiterated his desire to stay on with Fiorentina beyond his current loan, despite talks having broken down of late.
The Uruguay international enjoyed his loan spell in Serie A this term, quickly establishing himself as a first-team regular in the side, ending the term in particularly strong form by winning three Fiorentina Player of the Month awards in 2022.
His on-loan club shocked the player and his representatives by refusing to take up their option to buy, leading to some ill words in the press from Rocco Commisso who appeared to be claiming that the deal couldn’t be done, but apparently nobody is completely ruling out the possibility now, including the player himself.
“My intention is to stay at Fiorentina,” Torreira said (via Football Italia).
“But it will be necessary for the club to find an agreement with Arsenal. I’m perfectly fine in Florence. I am fine in Italy.”
Lucas then claimed that he had made it ‘to the top’ of his game in Florence, seemingly proud of the season he played:
“It was a very positive year, even if we failed to qualify for Europa League. Perhaps, we deserved something more, but in the end, when you lose games, it means that you did not do everything you could.
“Sometimes, you must accept that opponents may be superior. Much credit goes to the coach, who made me feel important to the team.
“Personally, I felt very loved by the teammates and fans, and when you have confidence in your means and feel trust from people around you, everything goes for the best. All these conditions helped me make it to the top and reach my record for goals in a season.
“People are very kind in Italy, I love the quality of life.
“Whenever I can travel through different regions and cities I see the similarity of the city centres, with historical architectures. I feel like in the past, like nothing’s changed.”
Something doesn’t quite add up here, almost as if Fiorentina are trying to make Torreira force the move through without paying a fair price, but the way they have gone about cannot help the character of the player, who has proven to be quite difficult to deal with.
I can still see this transfer happening, but despite already impressing there for the previous season, this could well affect him mentally ahead of the new campaign.
Will our club refuse to sell to La Viola unless the full option is met?
Patrick
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