Genk forward Leandro Trossard is close to finalising his move to the ranks of Brighton & Hove Albion, it has been reported.
The Seagulls are in the concluding stages of the deal which would cost them £18million as per Sky Sports. Manager Graham Potter is desperate to beef up the quality of his arsenal and Trossard’s signing will go a long way in doing that.
If the deal eventually materializes, he would become the club’s record-signing and would surpass their current record of £17million which they paid to AZ Alkmaar to acquire the services of Alireza Jahanbakhsh last summer.
Trossard was reportedly a subject of interest for Brighton’s fellow Premier League side Arsenal but from what appears as of now, they have emerged winners in the race to make him sign on the dotted line.
Leandro Trossard: Profile
Trossard started his senior career at Belgian outfit Genk which was followed by loan spells at Lommel United, Westerlo and OH Leuven which helped him to grow as a player. Last season was a highly productive one for the player as he performed at a consistently elevated level.
The 24-year-old plundered 22 goals and bagged 11 assists across all competitions and certainly played an instrumental role in making his side clinch their fourth Belgian top flight silverware.
Besides, he has also represented various youth sides of Belgium. Despite being called up for the Belgian national side by Roberto Martinez on numerous occasions, he is yet to make his debut for them.
An excellent move by Potter?
Albion narrowly managed to avoid relegation from the Premier League last season and in order to avoid similar circumstances in the upcoming campaign, signing someone like Trossard makes a lot of sense.
The Belgian prefers to ply his trade on the left flank but is versatile enough to operate as a secondary striker as well as a central attacking midfielder. He has raw pace on offer and is very direct in terms of his approach.
While Jose Izquierdo is set to miss the start of the new season as he is recovering from his knee injury, Jahanbakhsh was far from decent last season. Impliedly, Anthony Knockaert and Solly March have a lot of burden on their shoulders but it will be a folly on behalf of Potter to expect them to come up with the goods week in week out.
Trossard in that regard will come as a breath of fresh air. He has the caliber to score goals and create chances, can stretch the backline of the opposition with relative ease and is in a red-hot form at the moment.
The detractors might point out that the winger lacks experience of English football but owing to the ingredients he possesses and the maturity he has shown in the past couple of seasons, he would be worth a gamble and looks likely to bring an edge to the attack for Brighton which was lacking last season.