Trossard to Arsenal four years in the making with star first spotted before Brighton move

The Gunners have agreed a deal worth up to £27million for the Brighton star who is expected to pen a contract to 2027 after leaving the AMEX Stadium.

Advertisement

Mikel Arteta has been looking to add a creative player to his Premier League title challengers and Trossard is certainly fits the bill.

According to Kristof Terreur of HLN in Belgium, the Gunners have been tracking the 28-year-old since 2019 when he was still with Belgian side Genk.

Advertisement

While holding 'exploratory talks', Arsenal decided the player wasn't ready for top-level football in the Premier League, paving the way for him to join Brighton instead.

Having scored 25 goals and 14 assists in 121 appearances for the Seagulls, Trossard has certainly repaid the £15m outlay for the player during his three-and-a-half years on the south coast.

But Genk are also set to benefit financially from Arsenal's long-running interest.

Trossard's first club inserted a 15 per cent sell-on clause into the deal with Brighton, meaning they're due a slice of profit made by selling him to the Premier League leaders.

Advertisement

Advertisement

As a result, Genk would be set to pocket up to £1.8m from the fee, depending on the structure of his £27m move to north London.

Arsenal have been praised for their good business, although club legend Ray Parlour admits they have spent almost £30m for a squad player.

"He is not going to be playing in front of Saka and Martinelli at the moment," the Invicibles great told talkSPORT Breakfast.

Advertisement

"[Emile] Smith Rowe is on the bench as well, another quality player.

"If you look at Manchester City's bench, it is littered with unbelievable players, where as, if you look at Arsenal's bench, it is totally different.

"I think they needed someone. Obviously, they lost out on [Mykhailo] Mudryk to Chelsea, and they needed a reinforcement.

"Arsenal were always looking for a winger, and Trossard popped up with a hat-trick against Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season.

Advertisement

"I think he is decent signing, for the money as well - I thought it was a no brainer."

Keep up to date with all the latest news, rumours and gossip with our LIVE transfer blog