Report: The reason why Tottenham backed out and allowed Arsenal to sign Leandro Trossard

By Shamanth Jayaram

Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign Leandro Trossard last month, but the Belgian ended up joining Spurs’ fierce rivals Arsenal in the end.

The two North London clubs were very active in the winter window. Arsenal signed Trossard, Jakub Kiwior and Jorginho, while Spurs brought in Pedro Porro and Arnaut Danjuma.

Trossard has already made an excellent impression at Arsenal, and most Gunners fans are delighted to have him. However, he could’ve easily been a Spurs player.

The reason why Tottenham backed out and allowed Arsenal to sign Leandro Trossard

The Athletic revealed last month that Tottenham made a verbal £12 million bid to sign Trossard – much before Arsenal even came into the equation.

The Gunners were chasing Mykhaylo Mudryk at the time, who ended up signing for Chelsea.

Brighton apparently ‘laughed off‘ Spurs’ offer, and Antonio Conte’s side did not return with an improved bid. Arsenal then swooped in and agreed a deal to sign him for an initial £20 million plus another £7 million in potential add-ons (Sky Sports).

Some Spurs fans weren’t too pleased with how their side gave up after just one offer, but The Athletic has now revealed the real reason why Spurs decided against improving their bid.

It has been claimed that the Belgian ‘lacked resale value’ because he’s already 28 years old. Spurs didn’t think it was good business to spend upwards of £20 million to sign a player whose value will most likely drop to half of that figure in three years’ time.

Arsenal, on the other hand, did not care and they got the deal done.

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Tottenham’s thinking does make sense here.

Trossard would’ve only been a backup to Son Heung-min, Harry Kane, Dejan Kulusevski and probably even Richarlison. He was never going to be a regular starter, and that’s probably why Spurs decided against paying the big bucks.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are right to sign him. The Gunners needed depth in all three forward positions and Trossard is capable of playing across the frontline and also as a number 10.

£27 million may seem a bit too steep for a player who had fallen out with his manager, but if he helps Arsenal win the Premier League, we’re sure they’ll look back and think he was worth every penny.