Leandro Trossard is swapping north London for Turkey

ARSENAL are expected to accelerate their pursuit of Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis after it was confirmed this week that Leandro Trossard is swapping north London for Turkey.

Tzolis recorded 22 goals and 29 assists across all competitions last season, helping Club Brugge secure their 20th Belgian league title.

The 24-year-old Greece international will set the Gunners back somewhere in the region of £30m, while personal terms aren’t expected to be a problem with the player said to have set his sights on a move to the Emirates this summer.

Arsenal are also readying formal offers for a couple of more marquee signings, with Aston Villa’s attacking-midfielder Morgan Rogers still believed to be at the very top of their shopping list.

The fact that the Premier League champions are preparing to invest heavily in reinventing their squad will come as welcome news for Gunners fans, who will be disappointed to hear about Trossard’s departure.

The Belgium winger arrived in Istanbul this week to undergo a medical ahead of his move to Besiktas. The deal is worth £17m, reportedly broken up into an initial £15.3m plus £1.7m in performance-related add-ons.

Despite rumours that he would be sold last summer, Trossard emerged as a crucial player in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side last term.

The 31-year-old scored eight goals and registered 11 assists in 50 games across all competitions, helping the Gunners win their first league title in 22 years, while also finishing as runners-up in the Champions League.

Trossard – who joined Arsenal in a £27m deal from Brighton in January 2023 – also earned a place among the club’s cult heroes after scoring a crucial winner against West Ham back in May; a result that all but got Arteta’s championship-chasers over the line.

Meanwhile, Arsenal supporters will be worried about what the starting line-up looks like in the opening weeks of the season.

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have both looked fatigued and injury-hit during England’s World Cup campaign. And on Tuesday night William Saliba was forced off with a back injury just 30 minutes into France’s eventual semi-final defeat against Spain.

Both Saliba and Rice missed games last season with niggling back injuries, while Saka has had to manage his minutes in recent weeks due to achilles tendinitis.

Arsenal officially start their pre-season training this Monday, July 20, at their London Colney training ground, although key first-teamers representing their country at the World Cup have been given an extended break to recover.

The club kick off their pre-season friendlies on Saturday, August 1, away to Spanish side Girona.