Lucas Torreira’s move to Atletico Madrid at the end of the last transfer window was somewhat overshadowed by Thomas Partey going the other way.
Arsenal paid the midfielder’s buyout clause on deadline day, and the initial reaction in Spain was shock and anger. Atletico were presented as being furious with both Partey and the Gunners, feeling they should have been in contact earlier to make it clear the clause would be used.
This gradually changed to acceptance in the Spanish media that Atletico must have known what was going on, and that their victim stance was somewhat shaky.
Torreira was supposed to move on loan with a buying option, however, it was later explained that the disagreement over Partey meant no option agreement was reached between Arsenal and Atletico.
Mundo Deportivo now explain Torreira has been an immediate success and fit in at the Spanish club like he’s been there for a while. He made a ‘big impression’ on his debut for Diego Simeone’s side and is just the type of warrior that the manager likes.
This all leads to inevitable negotiations between Arsenal and Atletico over a fee to be paid to make the move permanent, whether that’s in January or next summer.
‘Everything indicates’ the transfer decision was right for the Arsenal owned player, yet those negotiations are surely going to be interesting after what happened with Partey.
