Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Facundo Torres to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

Transfer Focus

That's according to a report by The Express, who claim that, despite having only moved to Orlando City earlier this year, the 22-year-old winger has already caught the eye of Edu and the Gunners' recruitment team, who are believed to be planning talks with the Uruguay international's agent ahead of a potential move for the attacker this winter.

The report goes on to state that the MLS star would be a much cheaper alternative to another of Arsenal's reported transfer targets, €75m (£65.5m) left winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, however, the Evening Standard claim that the Premier League side view Torres as a signing who could provide competition for Bukayo Saka on the right flank.

Set to explode

Considering just how impressive Torres was in America this season, it is not difficult to understand why Arsenal would be interested in a deal to bring the forward to The Emirates in the January transfer window.

Indeed, over his 34 MLS appearances in 2022, the £7m-rated talent was in sensational attacking form, scoring nine goals, registering eight assists and creating eight big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.6 shots, making 1.4 key passes and completing one dribble per game.

The 22-year-old also impressed in a defensive capacity, making an average of 1.1 tackles, 0.4 interceptions, 0.3 clearances and winning 4.6 duels - at a success rate of 57% - per fixture.

These metrics saw the £10k-per-week winger average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.05, ranking him as Óscar Pareja's second-best performer in the league this season.

The ten-cap starlet also caught the eye over his six fixtures in the US Open Cup, bagging four goals, providing two assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.7 shots, making 2.7 key passes and completing 1.3 dribbles per game.

These returns not only saw the starlet - who Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig compared stylistically to Lionel Messi - earn a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.78 - ranking him as the fourth-best player to feature in the competition - but they also played a crucial role in Orlando going on to lift their first-ever trophy in the competition.

As such, it is not difficult to understand why Diego Alonso called the 22-year-old up to Uruguay's 26-man squad for the Qatar World Cup this winter, as it is clear that Torres is a player who is very much set to explode on the international stage - with Adam Herman claiming that "everyone is excited about" the youngster earlier this season.

And, while it would be insincere to compare the ability of a player as raw as the Orlando gem to that of Messi, considering his deadly nature in front of goal, his creative eye and his talent with the ball at his feet, should Edu manage to get a deal over the line for Torres this winter, he could well have landed Mikel Arteta his very own version of the Argentina legend.