Arsenal have slapped a £15m price tag on wantaway midfielder Lucas Torreira.
The Uruguayan midfielder has been loaned out to Atletico Madrid this season after falling down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta.
Torreira though wants to return to South America for family reasons following the death of his mother.
The Gunners are understanding of his situation, but want to recoup as much of the £26m he cost them back in 2018.
There is an acceptance that they won’t breakeven on their investment, reports ESPN, but they want to minimise the losses with two years still remaining on Torreira’s deal.
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Atletico do not have a purchase option in their loan agreement and are not interested in a permanent deal.
The 25-year-old has signalled his desire to move to Boca Juniors.
Arteta said on Wednesday: “Of course we contacted him. ‘We have spoken to him and we know how difficult a time this is for him. He was really attached to his mum and he’s really attached to his family.
“It’s a hard time for him and emotionally there is a lot of thoughts that will go through his mind. When things are like that, it’s not the moment to make decisions.
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“I understand how he’s feeling emotionally. He probably feels the need and responsibility to be closer to his family.
“But it’s not the moment to make any decisions and it certainly is a decision that has to be made by different parties. Now, nothing is going to change. It’s just an interview with some comments. Let’s see what happens.
“We know that when you recruit a player from a foreign country, when they have that struggle sometimes to adapt to a new culture, a new language, a new way of doing things.
“This risk is there and then you have to be able to manage that risk and make the right decisions at the right time.”
