What Christos Tzolis can bring to Arsenal as champions close in on £34m Brugge winger | OneFootball

Arsenal are closing in on a deal to sign Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, having reached an agreement to sign the winger for a fee of around £34m.

The Greece international has been targeted as a replacement for Leandro Trossard, following a prolific campaign in the Belgian Pro League, and the latter's exit for Besiktas.

Tzolis is set to arrive with a point to prove following a failed spell at Norwich City earlier in his career, but the 24-year-old has reignited his career in Brugge.

Last season, Tzolis produced an extraordinary individual campaign to fire Club Brugge to the Belgian Pro League title andChampions League qualification.

So, what has attracted Arsenal? To be blunt, the numbers are outstanding.

Across Europe last season, Tzolis ranked third for combined goals and assists in all club competitions. He scored 22 goals and added 29 assists, with only Bayern Munich pair Harry Kane (68) and Michael Olise (54) involved in more goals.

He led all leagues for Expected Goals (xG) plus Expected Assists (xA), an influence that outperformed Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland. All from a position stationed largely on the left.

No winger, anywhere in a top-tier league,outperformed Tzolis for goal involvements, assists, and touches in the box, while he ranked second for shots, and third for chances created. Quite simply, if Club Brugge were going forward, Tzolis was involved.

The elephant in the room is the size of the jump to England.

Tzolis is set to become the Belgian Pro League's record sale, and analysis of the most expensive departures from the division results in mixed results.

Charles De Ketelaere, Ardon Jashiri, Igor Thiago, Jonathan David, Tolu Arokadare, Jeremy Doku, Youri Tielemans, Sander Berge, and Wesley will trail Tzolis as the most expensive Pro League departures.

Some have established themselves as high-quality performers in top-five leagues, though there's an argument none can be classed as truly A-Grade talents.

Arsenal, however, may not need Tzolis to reach those heights. Trossard was recruited as a useful squad option from Brighton in January 2022 and fulfilled that role with key contributions and moments.

Tzolis, despite his past struggles in England, has taken huge strides since leaving Norwich. The challenge now is to make another at the Emirates.