Arsenal player’s £17m transfer delayed for now

Leandro Trossard won’t make a decision on his future until after the World Cup, despite reports of a club-to-club transfer agreement between Arsenal and Besiktas.

Adam Leventhal and James McNicholas reported for The Athletic last week that Besiktas had agreed a €20m (£17.1m) deal to sign Leandro Trossard from Arsenal, with an €18m upfront fee and another €2m in potential add-ons.

The report added that wages up to €9m and personal terms were in the process of being finalised, though it added that the deal was considered unlikely to further progress until Belgium’s elimination or victory at the World Cup.

Fabrizio Romano has since confirmed as much, reporting that Trossard’s decision will only be made after the World Cup.

Whether that’s sooner or later will depend on Belgium’s result in their increasingly controversial last-16 match against the United States on Monday night.

The U.S. have been boosted by the news that Folarin Balogun will be available to play in the match, despite receiving a red card and a one-match ban. Balogun and the U.S. had no right of appeal, but FIFA stepped in to suspend the ban and let the striker play anyway.

If Belgium progress, they’ll remain at the tournament until at least July 10th. If they then win their quarter-final, they won’t be done until July 18th at the earliest (the date of the third-place play-off).

So Trossard might be eliminated as soon as tonight, with a transfer following shortly afterwards, or he might remain at the World Cup for the next two weeks, with his potential deal on hold.

It’s also possible that the end of his tournament will be followed by the decision to stay at Arsenal. We don’t know yet, and won’t know until it happens.

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