Arsenal have a better chance to sign Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis this summer, according to Greek journalist Dimitris Manakos.
The Gunners are poised to strengthen their left wing department. They could pursue two signings with Leandro Trossard and possibly Gabriel Martinelli heading for the exit door.
Tzolis and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers have already been linked. Speaking to Voetbal Primeur, Manakos has now revealed that Arsenal have a concrete interest in landing the former.
The Premier League champions have been scouting Tzolis for some time and have a ‘better chance’ of signing him than anyone else. The club hold ‘all the cards’ to finalise a transfer.
Arson Jashari was Brugge’s record transfer to AC Milan last summer for £34 million, and the Belgian champions are likely to hold out for another club-record fee to part ways with Tzolis.
Tzolis could be signed as a secondary left winger
The Gunners’ main point of weakness has been the left-wing department. Trossard and Martinelli started last season brightly, but barely made goal contributions during the back end of last season.
Trossard went on a four-month run without finding the back of the net before his winning strike at West Ham United. Martinelli, on the other hand, scored just a solitary goal in the league campaign.
Arsenal obviously need an upgrade. Both Trossard and Martinelli will enter the last year of their contracts next month, but there is an option to extend the latter’s stay for another 12 months.
Both of them could be offloaded this summer. Tzolis had an extraordinary campaign for Brugge last term, scoring 22 goals and providing 29 assists from 52 appearances, primarily from the left wing.
Still, there is a vast difference in quality between the Belgian top tier and the Premier League. Arsenal believe Tzolis is ready for a bigger challenge, and it remains to be seen whether a formal bid is made.
Tzolis, who had goal contributions against Atalanta, Atletico and Barcelona in the Champions League last season, could be seen as a competitor to the marquee left wing signing for the Gunners next term.
Judging by recent speculation, the English champions could pursue a deal for Rogers or Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola. One of them could become Arsenal’s first-choice left winger.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com