Five years ago, Christos Tzolis left England with three goals, a relegation on his CV and a reputation as another Norwich gamble gone wrong.
On Thursday, Arsenal agreed a £34m fee with Club Brugge to bring him back, a Belgian Pro League record for the winger signed to replace Leandro Trossard, who joined Besiktas this week in a £17m deal.
The arc is remarkable. Tzolis managed just three goals in 30 appearances across his Norwich spell before rebuilding at Fortuna Düsseldorf and then exploding in Belgium, where he produced 22 goals and 29 assists in 52 matches last season.
Sky Sports reports that once he learned the Premier League champions were interested, he only wanted Arsenal.
The recruitment logic is almost surgical. Like Trossard, Tzolis is a left winger who doubles as a No 10, and Crystal Palace considered him last summer as a replacement for Eberechi Eze, now an Arsenal player himself.
His former Brugge assistant coach Hayk Milkon describes a machine-like player. “He’s a guy that works a lot,” Milkon said, noting his sprint numbers stayed stable even through Champions League weeks, with his longest absence in Belgium lasting two matches.
Even the flaws rhyme. Mikel Arteta affectionately called Trossard “a bit of a moaner,” while Milkon identifies emotional stability as Tzolis’s growth area, a temperament bred, he suggests, from a desire to win.
The stakes explain the outlay. Arsenal won their first league title since 2004 last season but lost both the Carabao Cup and Champions League finals, and have never won back-to-back English titles in their history.
Trading an ageing Trossard for a 24-year-old at a £17m net cost, with a move for Morgan Rogers still running separately, is how champions try to stay champions. iShareNews will confirm the medical and unveiling.
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