Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero has appeared to confirm that a £26m agreement is in place for Arsenal to sign midfielder Lucas Torreira.
The Uruguay international, currently away on World Cup duty in Russia, was first tipped to join the Gunners following Unai Emery’s arrival last month.
Following Jack Wilshere’s announcement that he is to depart Arsenal later this month, the North London outfit are now on the brink of bringing in a long-term replacement.
Speaking to TMW, Sampdoria chief Ferrero admitted that he is happy to offload the 22-year-old for a huge profit, three years after arriving from Pescara.
“Torreira has left for €30m,” he said when asked about the recent interest. “I bought him from Pescara when nobody believed in him. We took a gamble on him and we won, paying just £2.75m. The money that comes in will be used to capitalise the company.”
Arsenal have already recruited Stephan Lichsteiner and Bernd Leno this summer, while Borussia Dortmund centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos is also understood to be on the brink of joining.