Everton and Aston Villa reportedly wanted Leandro Trossard but the Genk captain is heading to the Premier League with Brighton instead.
Despite a late charge from Aston Villa and interest from Everton, Leonardo Trossard has become a Brighton and Hove Albion player after all.
According to The Argus, The Seagulls agreed a club-record £18 million fee with Genk, meaning the 24-year-old has now been confirmed as Graham Potter’s second signing since taking over from Chris Hughton at The Amex, following in the footsteps of former Portsmouth defender Matt Clarke.
But why has Trossard chosen Brighton despite interest from some, with all due respect, historically larger clubs?
Well, according to The Argus, Trossard is keen to play on the South Coast. Brighton is rather nice this time of year after all. And, tellingly, he appears to believe that he would play regular Premier League football at Brighton.
If he’d joined Aston Villa or Everton, who were confident of landing the winger back in May (Express, 5th, page 7), first-team action would be far less assured.
After all, The Toffees already have plenty of options out wide with even the likes of Theo Walcott and Ademola Lookman struggling for game time across 2018/19.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, have already snapped up Anwar El-Ghazi on a permanent basis while Jota only recently completed a controversial move from bitter rivals Birmingham City.
Trossard might have made the right decision with all things considered.
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