Roberto De Zerbi echoes Adam Lallana's ruthless parting shot to Leandro Trossard
Leandro Trossard won't be sorely missed at Brighton when he moves to Arsenal - at least not according to manager Roberto De Zerbi and midfielder Adam Lallana.
The Belgian forward, 28, had been the Seagulls' star player but is now undergoing a medical at the Emirates after the clubs struck a rapid £27million deal on Thursday. When Arsenal missed out of the signing of Ukrainian wonderkid Mykhaylo Mudryk to London rivals Chelsea, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta identified Trossard as a viable alternative and is set to hand him a five-year contract.
Following a fallout with De Zerbi earlier this month, the Belgium international was made available for transfer and the Seagulls are content in offloading him, having recently entered the final 18 months of his current deal on the south coast. In addition, Brighton don't appear to be heartbroken about his departure - far from it in fact.
After Lallana declared that he and his teammates "will cope" and "have already coped" with previous big-name player sales, his boss has echoed that sentiment. "The situation was difficult because I understood he wanted to leave," De Zerbi told a press conference on Friday morning, as Trossard underwent his medical. "I'm sorry for the last period but we can play well with Leo and without Leo."
One would be inclined to believe the Italian tactician and Lallana, especially given how the Seagulls have fared this season. Having sold left-back Marc Cucurella to Chelsea for a cool £56million plus £7m in potential add-ons last August, the Blues came back to Brighton to poach manager Graham Potter.
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Former Shakhtar Donetsk boss De Zerbi was soon appointed as his replacement and aptly hammered Chelsea 4-1 on home soil to triumphantly mark his first victory in charge. The south-coast side have won four of their six league games since, firing them seventh in the table and tempting their fans to dream of European football at the Amex.
Leandro Trossard will join Arsenal in a £27m deal (GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)Have your say! Will Trossard help Arsenal win the Premier League title? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
De Zerbi still sees room for improvement in his squad, though, adding at Friday's press conference: "We are progressing, but I think we are around 60 per cent of our potential right now. We can keep improving a lot. I don't know if top six is possible but we are trying. I believe in my players."
There was also further speculation of players leaving the Seagulls, with Ecuadorian prodigy Moises Caicedo reported to be the subject of a £55m bid from - you guessed it - Chelsea. "He is very important for us. I hope he finishes the season with us," De Zerbi affirmed. "The best solution is that he finishes the season with us and for him, in the summer, it's better then if he changes teams."
As for Arsenal, they're hoping that Trossard can help win them a Premier League title since 2003. However, the 28-year-old is unlikely to be available for the Gunners' mouth-watering clash at home to Manchester United on Sunday given the 12pm Friday deadline for registering new signings.
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