Arsenal: 3 Players Who Need a Loan Transfer This January

Lucas Torreira

Get him out of Atletico Madrid. At some point between now and the end of the window, he has to leave.

Selling him in the summer was high on the list of priorities for Arsenal. Interest was there from both Italy and Spain, none of it strong enough to warrant the clubs in question meeting the asking price, which hovered around the fee Arsenal initially forked out.

In turn, securing him a move away on loan was the next best option – with an obligation to buy preferably – which is when Los Rojiblancos came in. At the time it seemed the perfect fit. With them losing Thomas Partey (not to their knowledge) they needed more steel in central midfield to suit Diego Simeone’s style.

Falling back on a central duo of Marcos Llorente and Koke, Atleti have soared to the top of La Liga and conceded just six goals (at the time of writing) in 16 matches. For that reason, you can’t blame Simeone for not picking Lucas Torreira. How could you?

It does mean, however, that Torreira has to join another club this month. Arsenal have to protect his suffering value ahead of the summer when he is sold. Every week he doesn’t play in Madrid, interested parties for the end of the season lower their valuations. Torreira is swamped with offers, too. A host of sides across La Liga and Serie A would gladly take him in January to aid their second halves of the season.

"Edu told AS: “If everyone is happy, we will continue like this, if Lucas is not well, we will look for a change because there are many teams that are calling me to ask about the player’s situation.”"

Arsenal need movement on that front.