Arsenal are interested in signing Jorginho from League rivals Chelsea, while Atletico Madrid are confident of getting a loan deal done for Lucas Torreira.
Jorginho is one of a number of midfielders Arsenal are keen on, with Thomas Partey and Lyon’s Houssem Aouar also on the club’s radar.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was assistant to Pep Guardiola when Manchester City were close to signing Jorginho from Italian side Napoli in 2018.
However, the midfielder appears to be part of Frank Lampard’s plans at Stamford Bridge, and has captained the blues in both of their Premier League matches so far this campaign.
While the gunners continue to search for a new midfielder, it looks as though they will be without Torreira this season as he closes in on a move to Atletico.
The Spanish club are keen to take the Uruguayan midfielder on loan and include the option to sign him on a permanent deal at the end of the campaign.
And, Arsenal would like to sell Torreira, but would be willing to agree to a loan deal if it includes the obligation for Atletico to sign the 24-year-old permanently.
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If Arsenal are able to persuade Atletico to sign Torreira, the money raised might go towards triggering the £45 million release clause in Partey’s contract.
Torino are also interested in Torreira, who previously spent time in Italy with Pescara and Sampdoria, and were in discussions over a £22m transfer move.
Torreira is yet to feature in Arsenal’s squad this season, and appears to be one of several players that are not in Mikel Arteta’s plans at the club.
Fellow midfielders Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi are also yet to feature for Arsenal this season, with both players believed to have potentially played their last games for the club.
Asked to explain the absence of Ozil – who has not played any game for the club since March 7 – from his team, Arteta said: “The team is evolving, you can see the level they are achieving.
“This is where we are at the moment. We want to evolve more and play better and compete better. We need to keep maintaining that. “I’m really happy with the performance here, how difficult they’re making things for the coaching staff to select the squad.
“We are picking the players that we believe are the best for each game. You can see we keep training, it’s what we’re trying to do.
“You can see that the players we are changing, we are using, it’s very difficult every week – not [just] for Mesut – but for some other players as well to make the squad. Every week we try to pick the right players.
“Of course I understand and I respect your questions, but I have to try to do my job as fair as possible. I try to select the players that are, in my opinion, in better condition.”
