Christos Tzolis is all set to be Arsenal’s first outfield signing of the summer.
The Gunners brought in Illan Meslier earlier in this window as their third-choice goalkeeper, but they hadn’t managed anything else, which frustrated the fans.
Now, a deal has been struck between Arsenal and Club Brugge for the transfer of Tzolis, and the agreement was reached without any real negotiation.
How many goals and assists will Christos Tzolis end his debut season at Arsenal with?
He scored 22 goals and provided 29 assists last season👀
Arsenal wanted Christos Tzolis so badly that they didn’t even negotiate with Club Brugge
Arsenal have been linked with a move to sign Christos Tzolis for several months now.
The Greek winger made a terrific name for himself at Club Brugge, and he was linked with a move to several clubs across Europe’s big leagues.
Brugge were adamant from the start that they wanted a Belgian record transfer fee for Tzolis and slapped a €40 million (£34m) price tag on him.
Usually, Arsenal would’ve tried to bring that fee down and tested the waters with a smaller bid, probably around €30 million.
However, this time, they wanted Tzolis so badly that they just agreed to Brugge’s demands without even negotiating on the fee.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, who said in his YouTube video: “Agreement done on a €40 million deal. This is the transfer fee that Arsenal will pay to Club Brugge.
“Basically, there were almost no negotiations because the asking price was always €40 million. Brugge didn’t want to negotiate on that, and Arsenal decided to pay the asking price.”
Arsenal must rate Christos Tzolis very highly to not even negotiate
Arsenal must genuinely believe Tzolis will be a superstar.
Fans have seen for years now their sporting directors – now Andrea Berta and previously Edu Gaspar – used to spend weeks and sometimes months trying to drive the prices down of players they wanted to sign.
That has led to Arsenal missing out on certain targets in the past, which is why we think it is clear that Tzolis has convinced Berta and everyone else at the club that he is a star in the making.
The numbers say the same too – only Harry Kane (68) and Michael Olise (53) directly contributed to more goals than Tzolis (51) last season in all of Europe’s top 10 leagues.
Only time will tell if he turns out to be a success, but it is certain that Arsenal rate him very highly – they wouldn’t have signed him without any negotiations if they didn’t.
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