According to Football London, Arsenal are in pursuit of Genk winger Leandro Trossard but it has been reported that the Gunners might have to cough up more than £25million to land the in-form Belgian in January.
The 23-year-old has been making the headlines in the Belgian top flight this season with his remarkable performances, scoring 9 goals and providing 2 assists from 12 appearances.
Having played a major part in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League where he scored 5 goals, the Belgian winger has hit the ground running in the group stages of the Europa League as well, scoring a couple of goals in Genk’s victories over Malmoe and Sarpsborg 08..
Trossard’s consistently impressive displays also earned him a call-up to Roberto Martinez’s Belgian squad in September even though he didn’t make an appearance.
Essentially a right-footed player who is deployed as an inverted winger down the left, Trossard has shown that he has a deadly eye for goal. He has also been used as a left-sided forward and as a supporting striker at times due to his versatility as an attacker.
Standing at 5ft. 8 inches, Trossard is not capable of dominating the opposition with his physicality or aerial prowess. However, his relatively short stature gives him the advantage of a low centre of gravity which allows the Belgian to keep exceptional close control in tight areas. He has a decent technique and uses his elegance and dribbling skills to cut inside from the flanks.
A fast, agile and mobile wide-forward, Trossard not only excels with his clinical nature in front of goal but also has the ability to link-up effectively with his teammates. He tends to drift to the central areas of the pitch at times, giving himself the chance to set up his teammates with inch-perfect passes.
To put things into perspective, he would be a good addition for any of the mid-table Premier League sides but Southampton should try to hijack Arsenal’s move for the wide-forward.
Southampton have failed to hit the ground running this term in the Premier League and the Saints continued their dismal run with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Fulham this week.
The Saints have scored 7 goals in the Premier League so far, which can be considered as meagre returns from 13 games. Mark Hughes’ men are currently placed 17th in the standings with 8 points, just above Cardiff City and Fulham on goal difference.
Quite clearly, Mark Hughes will have to pull the rabbit out of the hat once again this season to save the club from relegation. And the Saints are in dire need of new faces in January, particularly to add substance to the attack, as they have struggled to find the net on a consistent basis.
Summer recruit Mohamed Elyounoussi has underwhelmed so far down the right while his counterpart on the left, Nathan Redmond, hasn’t been able to add that much-needed impetus to the attack. Liverpool loanee Danny Ings has found the net on four occasions but Southampton have been hit hard by the goal drought of Charlie Austin and Shane Long.
As things stand, they need a goalscoring left-winger to provide competition for Nathan Redmond and Belgian youngster Leonardo Trossard perfectly fits the bill at St. Mary’s.
That said, Southampton should not hesitate to splash the cash to sign this in-form winger from Genk in January as he might help them avoid the drop this season.