Arsenal aren’t just replacing Leandro Trossard. They’re betting on one of European football’s most remarkable redemption stories.
The Premier League champions are closing in on a £35 million deal for Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis, according to reports from The Sun and journalist Kostas Lianos. Negotiations between the two clubs have reached an advanced stage, with only final approval needed before the 24-year-old Greek international travels to London.
It’s a signing that would’ve seemed absurd three years ago. Back then, Tzolis was struggling for minutes at Norwich City, stuck on the fringes of a relegated squad. Now? He’s the reigning Belgian Pro League Player of the Season.
So what changed?
The Trossard-sized hole in Arsenal’s squad
This move doesn’t happen in isolation. Arsenal have already agreed a €20 million deal (£17.1m) with Besiktas for Leandro Trossard, according to The Athletic. The Belgian’s agent has reportedly travelled to Istanbul for final contract negotiations.
Trossard leaves as a Premier League champion, having contributed 36 goals and 34 assists across 174 Arsenal appearances since his £23m arrival from Brighton in January 2023. He was reliable, consistent, and almost always available.
But he’s 31, had one year left on his contract, and his 2026 form dipped noticeably. Arsenal’s decision to sell makes business sense, even if it stings.
With Trossard heading to Turkey and Gabriel Martinelli’s future also uncertain, strengthening the left flank has become one of Mikel Arteta’s top priorities.
Enter Tzolis.
From Norwich reject to Belgium’s best player
Few career arcs in recent European football are quite as dramatic as the one Tzolis has written.
He arrived at Norwich from PAOK in 2021 as a highly touted 19-year-old. The Canaries broke their own transfer record, paying around £9 million. Then everything went sideways.
After just seven Premier League appearances, manager Daniel Farke — the man who’d wanted Tzolis — was sacked. His successor Dean Smith had different ideas entirely. Tzolis barely featured, logging fewer than 800 minutes all season. Even after Norwich were mathematically relegated with five games left, he got zero minutes in any of them.
He’s since reflected on that period with surprising good humour. In an interview with Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad, he admitted it was the worst spell of his career but said he now views it as a valuable lesson.
Loan spells at FC Twente and then Fortuna Düsseldorf followed. It was in Germany’s 2. Bundesliga where Tzolis properly reignited, banging in 24 goals and 10 assists in 37 appearances. Fortuna activated their €3.5 million purchase option.
Three days later, Club Brugge swooped — paying just €6.5 million. That looks like one of the shrewdest deals in recent Belgian football history.
The numbers that have Arsenal convinced
Since arriving in Belgium, Tzolis has been sensational. Across two seasons with Club Brugge, his numbers read like a highlight reel:
– 43 goals and 45 assists in 108 appearances across all competitions
– 22 goals and 29 assists in 52 games during the 2025-26 season alone
– 17 league goals and 23 league assists in 36 Belgian Pro League starts
– Belgian Pro League champion (2025-26) and Belgian Cup winner (2024-25)
– Named 2025-26 Belgian Footballer of the Year
For context, only Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Vangelis Pavlidis, and Michael Olise outperformed his combined goal contribution tally during the 2025 calendar year, according to Goal.com.
His former Club Brugge coach Nicky Hayen praised both his output and his character, describing him as someone who proves himself consistently and calling him a model professional.
Arsenal’s data team has reportedly been impressed with the Greek winger for a while. According to Football365, sources describe Tzolis as a “market opportunity” that won’t affect Arsenal’s pursuit of bigger targets.
Why this won’t slow the Morgan Rogers chase
Here’s the key detail many are missing. The Tzolis deal isn’t an alternative to Morgan Rogers — it’s a separate track entirely.
Rogers remains Arteta’s marquee target. The Aston Villa forward is viewed as a long-term solution on the left side of Arsenal’s attack, and personal terms are reportedly very close to being agreed.
But Villa want upwards of £130 million, which would make Rogers the most expensive English player ever. That negotiation could drag on for weeks. Arsenal can’t afford to wait around with a gap in their squad.
Tzolis, at £35 million, is a different kind of investment. He’s versatile enough to play anywhere across the front three, he’s familiar with English football — for better and worse — and he’s only 24.
If this deal goes through, it would set a new Belgian outgoing transfer record, surpassing the £32.5 million AC Milan paid for Charles De Ketelaere in 2022. It would also make Tzolis the most expensive Greek footballer in history.
Can Tzolis handle the Premier League this time?
That’s the question sceptics will ask. And it’s fair. His first English experience was a disaster.
But Tzolis was 19 then. He’d been thrown into a chaotic environment at a club hurtling toward relegation. The manager who wanted him was gone within weeks.
He’s 24 now. He’s won two trophies in Belgium. He’s played Champions League football. He’s experienced setback, rebuilt his confidence across three different European leagues, and emerged as one of the continent’s most productive wide forwards.
He told The Pink Un earlier this year that the Premier League is where everyone wants to play, adding that a move to a big club in one of Europe’s top leagues would appeal to him.
TEAMtalk reports that Tzolis is open to returning to England and believes he’s far better equipped to succeed than during his first experience.
What happens next
Arsenal are expected to give final approval on the deal soon, according to The Sun. Club Brugge aren’t under financial pressure to sell cheaply, but the £35 million figure appears to satisfy both sides.
With Trossard’s exit nearly complete, Martinelli’s future in doubt, and the Rogers saga likely to run deep into the summer, Tzolis represents smart, proactive business from sporting director Andrea Berta.
It’s the kind of signing that doesn’t generate the loudest headlines but could deliver enormous value. And for a player who once couldn’t even get on the pitch during dead-rubber relegation matches, a move to the Premier League champions would be the ultimate full-circle moment.
