Agent reveals Arsenal new boy could have joined SSC Napoli if Carlo Ancelotti was in charge sooner

Lucas Torreira’s agent Pablo Bentancur has revealed that the dogged Uruguayan midfielder could have joined SSC Napoli from fellow Serie A side UC Sampdoria if Carlo Ancelotti was in charge of the Partenopei sooner, although negotiations with the Gunners were simply ‘too advanced’ by the time the Italian tactician assumed his position in the club’s technical area.

It’s believed that Napoli were monitoring the box-to-box midfielder throughout the second-half of the 2017-18 campaign and were keen to acquire his sturdy services in the summer transfer window, but once the north-Londoners made their persistent interest known, any proposed deal that would have seen Torreira become a regular at the Stadio San Paolo evidently altered.

Speaking to Radio Crc (via Football Italia), Bentancur openly confessed: “It’s a pity, I’m sorry Ancelotti wasn’t there at the start of the negotiation,

“He’d have been a great help for Torreira, he has tremendous international experience. But then Lucas called me and he confirmed to me that negotiations with Arsenal were too advanced for any second thoughts.

“If Arsenal had collapsed then Napoli would have been perfect.

“Arsenal satisfied all of our requests, even paying €5m more than the release clause. He’s adapting well to the Premier League, he’s settling well and he’s happy.”

Torreira is yet to fully establish himself as a mainstay in Unai Emery’s Arsenal squad having predominantly been selected as a substitute, but once the productive South American acclimatises to life on English soil and the expectations that walk hand in hand with the Premier League, he’ll certainly make a household name of himself at the Emirates as an undisputed starter in the Spaniard’s midfield department.