The Premier League leaders are in talks with Brighton to acquire the services of the Belgian Leandro Trossard. The 28-year-old is among the candidates Arsenal are considering this month to bolster their squad after missing out on Mykhailo Mudryk, who opted to go to Chelsea.
What does Trossard bring to the table?
Since he joined Brighton & Hove Albion in 2019 for €16 Million, Leandro Trossard has been an integral part of the project initiated by Graham Potter. Brighton’s number 17 has already exceeded last season’s tally in terms of goals, and it’s no surprise that a big club such as Arsenal are interested in him. The Gunners are looking to improve their squad depth with the most intense part of the season on the horizon; it’s the smart thing to do. The option of Trossard is ideal for the league leaders as it won’t cost them close to a €100M as Mudryk was going to cost them, and he come fully adapted to the English game, with experience for days.
Some of the Belgian’s best attributes are his passing, dribbling and versatility to play in various positions. He is well-positioned to slot in as a centre-attacking midfielder, a left-sided winger or even a striker – ticking all the boxes for Arteta, whose desire for players that can play in more than one position is evident with every transfer they make.
The way that Arteta is setting up his team to play is quick, interchanging passes, which is a very attractive brand of football. Martin Odegaard has been the creator-in-chief this season, and with Partey and Xhaka as pivots, he has the license to create chaos. One of the main points of criticism in Arsenal’s bid to lift the title has been that they are just two injuries away from calamity. Gabriel Jesus has been diligently replaced by Nketiah, who is coming to his own, scoring great goals and stepping up when needed. Trossard would serve the same purpose for either Saka or Martinelli should either pick up a knock. A very solid squad player with great knowledge of the Premier League already and is a regular starter for his National team.
The transfer fee is hovering around the €20-30M, with Grant Bloom adamant that he won’t sell the Belgian for less than what he thinks is fair value. Meaning that for Arsenal, this might not be a very straightforward deal should they not meet the valuation.
Contract situation
Talks for a renewal of his contract was halted due to the World Cup, but after he came back from Qatar, he had an altercation at training which put a dampen on his mood and other players as well. After the incident, he was benched for the game against Everton, Middlesbrough and again against Liverpool. Since the contract is still valid until the end of the season but they can extend the contract by 12 months or maybe 24 months. For someone who has expressed his interest of moving away from the Amex, having Arsenal knocking on the door would be ideal for Albion as they can get the best price for him now and build on their current success.
LV BET is weighing up the options and which club is the most likely to sign Trossard, with Arsenal are at 1/20 (1.05), Spurs at 16/1 (17.00) and Chelsea at 20/1 (21.00). We had to list Chelsea as there might be a chance that they could go after him in the last minute and sabotage yet another transfer.