Chelsea and Arsenal are set to go to war again after the Blues looked to ruin their rivals transfer plans by swooping for Brighton forward Leandro Trossard.
The London duo came head-to-head in the pursuit of Mykhaylo Mudryk, with Chelsea ultimately hijacking Arsenal’s approach for the Shakhtar forward and signing him for €100 million.
Trossard looks set to leave Brighton after falling out with manager Roberto de Zerbi, with the Belgian refusing to sign an extension to his contract that expires in the summer.
While Brighton retain an option to extend Trossard’s deal for a further, he is likely to be sold after being dropped for the Seagulls’ last two games, although De Zerbi has insisted the 28-year-old still has a chance to redeem himself at the club.
Tottenham were thought to be front runners for Trossard but Arsenal are reportedly looking to him after missing out on Mudryk and were aiming to beat their bitter rivals to the punch.
However, both North London sides could be left stranded after Chelsea’s interest, with manager Graham Potter hoping to reunite with the player he brought to Brighton in 2019.
Is Trossard set for a London move?
Trossard is believed to be desperate for a move to a bigger club, having begun the season in impressive form with seven Premier League goals so far.
Brighton are insistent they will not sell their star man for anything less than £25m, a figure which would appeal to most interested sides.
Chelsea are still looking to spend despite an outlay of more than £400m this season but Arsenal are in the market for a forward to replace the injured Gabriel Jesus and see Trossard as an affordable squad option.
Tottenham are thought to be the most interested in Trossard as they look to break out of their recent slump but both them and Arsenal are wary of Chelsea’s spending prowess in the market.
Trossard’s agent released a statement recently claiming the player felt ‘humiliated’ by De Zerbi after telling him to train away from the first team and it appears a transfer is a foregone conclusion despite the Brighton boss hoping for a reconciliation.