Where will Lucas Torreira go if his Atletico loan is cut short?

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Lucas Torreira will likely have to find himself a new club either on loan or permanently this January, with his loan from Arsenal to Atletico Madrid set to be cut short.

As part of the negotiations to bring Thomas Partey to the Emirates, Torreira went the other way on loan, but has failed to make an impact at the Wanda Metropolitano, making just two starts in La Liga and four across all competitions.

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One of his starts came in the disastrous Copa del Rey exit at the hands of minnows Cornella.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta previously revealed that he had spoken to Torreira about his situation at Atletico.

 “I have had some conversations with Lucas,” Arteta said.

“He started the loan period really well, now he’s lacking game-time. It can happen, the team is doing exceptionally well. They are first in the Spanish La Liga so when a team is winning it can be difficult to get in the line-up.

“But it’s a long season, I know Lucas’ character, he’s going to try to keep going and pushing. Let’s see what happens with him.” 

Should head coach Diego Simeone decide to send him back to London, there are a few suitors who are reportedly interested in taking over the loan.

Who is interested in Torreira?

Valencia

Valencia head coach Javi Gracia has seen what Torreira can do, on occasion, in the Premier League, so may feel he can get the best out of the Uruguayan.

Los Che have been on the lookout for a new central midfielder in January, with them contacting Tottenham over the availability of Harry Winks last week. Now that Jose Mourinho has played down any speculation of Winks leaving, Valencia could turn their attentions to Torreira.

The Spanish side are quite short in the midfield department, particularly from a defensive point of view, so they might emerge as the front runners to land Torreira if they push hardest for a deal to be done.

Fiorentina

A return to Serie A is also an option, with Torreira having enjoyed the best years of his career so far in Italian football with Sampdoria.

Fiorentina are interested in bringing him back, desperate to add some quality to their midfield after winning just four out of 17 matches in the league in 2020/21.

Whether Torreira is the right kind of midfielder that the Viola need is another debate, but according to Spanish outlet AS they are indeed interested.

Lazio

Lazio have made a habit out of taking unwanted players from the Premier League, having recently signed Wesley Hoedt from Southampton and Andreas Pereira from Man Utd.

Torreira could be set to join them, with Simone Inzaghi looking into the possibility of signing him on a six-month loan.

According to FootballCritic, however, Lazio already have plenty of players who can play in central midfield, so whether or not they need another one is, of course, up to Inzaghi.