Arsenal sell Trossard to Besiktas as Club Brugge eyes €35m windfall

Arsenal have agreed a fee of approximately £17m (€20m) with Besiktas for Belgian forward Leandro Trossard. The 31-year-old has received permission to travel to Istanbul to undergo a medical. "Negotiations have commenced with professional football player Leandro Trossard and his club Arsenal regarding his permanent transfer," the Turkish Super Lig side said in a statement.

The transfer is structured as a £15.3m (€18m) base payment plus £1.7m (€2m) in add-ons. Arsenal originally paid £21m plus add-ons to Brighton to acquire Trossard in January 2023. Selling a player with three years remaining on his contract indicates a strategic decision to liquidate the asset now rather than wait for its market value to depreciate further.

Trossard leaves north London with a strong record of 36 goals and 34 assists in 174 appearances. He was a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s side, starting 21 league games last season as Arsenal won the Premier League title. He also started the Champions League final defeat against Paris St-Germain and all six of Belgium’s World Cup matches this summer.

His departure immediately triggers a chain reaction in the European transfer market. Arsenal are poised to accelerate their pursuit of Club Brugge forward Christos Tzolis to fill the squad void. A transfer would represent a significant financial windfall for the Belgian club, with the 24-year-old Greece international available for about £30m (€35m).

Club Brugge is actively anticipating an official offer from the London club. Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is overseeing the potential deal. His assistant, Maurizio Micheli, recently scouted Tzolis in person during Greece’s match against Sweden last month.

Securing Tzolis would not replace Arsenal’s broader ambitions in the forward market. The club retains a long-term interest in Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez as a priority target. However, competing interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid makes a deal for the Argentina international difficult this summer.

For a versatile forward, Morgan Rogers remains Arsenal’s preferred option, though Aston Villa reportedly values the England international at £130m. If that proves unattainable, Paris St-Germain winger Bradley Barcola is viewed as the alternative. Arsenal are also monitoring younger prospects, with Micheli recently scouting Georgia Under-21 attacker Andria Bartishvili in a Champions League qualifier.