It is a significant coup for Arsenal, who have now bolstered their squad after losing Ukraine star Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea in a £90 million deal.
Arsenal has agreed a fee of £27 million for Brighton forward Leandro Trossard.
Trossard, 28, of Belgium, is scheduled to have a medical on Thursday night after signing a five-year contract with the Emirates. Arsenal hopes to announce the deal on Friday and complete it in time for him to be in the squad to face Manchester United on Sunday – with the deadline being 12pm on Friday.
It is a major coup for Arsenal, who beat off competition from North London rivals Tottenham and secured a low-cost deal, though Brighton will feel they got a good deal.
Trossard’s contract was coming to an end, despite Brighton having a 12-month option to extend it this summer, and he was eager to leave during this window.
It is a significant coup for Arsenal, who have now bolstered their squad after losing Ukraine star Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea in a £90 million deal.
Arsenal are determined to strengthen their squad in this window in order to provide manager Mikel Arteta with more depth and options in order to maintain their title challenge.
Trossard is regarded as Premier League-ready, capable of integrating immediately into Arsenal’s squad, and capable of scoring goals as well as providing an alternative on the flanks.
Arsenal are still looking for more deals because Arteta has been balancing a thin squad all season, and Trossard is the first in a window that could help them win their first Premier League title in 19 years.
Trossard was on the verge of joining the Gunners four years ago. Trossard’s agent, Josy Comhair, revealed to Bookmakers Ratings in an interview before the World Cup in November that Arsenal traveled to Belgium four times for private transfer talks in order to persuade him to join them instead of Brighton when he was at Genk in 2019.
“[Graham] Potter came to Brussels, especially for Leandro,” Comhair explained. With a lengthy PowerPoint presentation to persuade him. He was completely obsessed with him. There were alternatives. During the same time period, I spoke with Arsenal several times. They visited Belgium four times.
“I’ll make one point clear: most players would have chosen Arsenal. But what if Leandro hadn’t been allowed to play? Then there’s only one option: take a step back.
“People are unaware of what that does in someone’s mind. I know how Leandro reacts when he is benched three times in a row. So we flipped it: if he does well in Brighton, he doesn’t have to back down; instead, he can take a step forward.