Arsenal’s sale of Leandro Trossard to Beşiktaş is expected to push the Premier League champions further down the road to sign Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis.
Trossard has become a Beşiktaş player, having traveled to Istanbul earlier this week and successfully completing a medical at a hospital in the city. The Gunners are set to bank up to £17.1 million ($22.9 million) for the aging Belgian, almost all of which is guaranteed.
Now, BBC Sport reports that existing Arsenal interest in Tzolis will be “accelerated,” with Club Brugge “anticipating” that an offer will soon arrive.
The Greek star is coming off a breakout season in Belgium in which he got 51 goals and assists in 52 appearances across all competitions. That was seemingly enough to get Arsenal paying attention, but the final straw in his favor is a reported visit from senior Gunners scout Maurizio Micheli when Greece tied 2–2 with Sweden in a pre-World Cup friendly last month.
Tzolis registered an assist that night and recorded both the most chances created (four) and most touches in the opponent’s box (five) of any player on the pitch.
It could take £30 million ($40.5 million) for Arsenal to seal a transfer. That is significantly more than selling Trossard brings in, but is still relatively modest in the current market among elite clubs. Even if Tzolis fills a similar backup role to what Trossard had, with regular substitute appearances off the left flank, he is seven years younger and would freshen things up with new energy.
It also still leaves Arsenal scope to continue searching for a forward with more star power.
Arsenal Still Have Three-Player Shortlist
The widespread belief is that pursuing Tzolis as a younger version of Trossard does not impact Arsenal’s desire to still go after a premium versatile forward.
Even if ideal target Julián Alvarez seems out of reach due to his wish to join Barcelona, the Gunners are still expected to try and get one of Morgan Rogers or Bradley Barcola.
There are reports that Rogers is being priced by Aston Villa at £130 million ($175.5 million). Villa are among the many clubs now valuing players based on what Manchester City paid for Elliot Anderson.
Arsenal tried and failed to poach Ollie Watkins from Villa as a short-term fix just 18 months ago, but Rogers, turning 24 before the end of July, would be a long-term investment.
Barcola, who had to make do with a supporting role at Paris Saint-Germain last season, would be cheaper—but not necessarily by much at all. The latest estimate from L’Équipe in France is the equivalent of £127 million ($171 million).
According to BBC Sport, Rogers is the preferred target of the pair and efforts to sign him will step up as soon as England’s World Cup participation is over after the weekend.
