Trossard is taking a gamble by tanking his Brighton reputation

Well, this whole soap opera surrounding Leandro Trossard and his desperate desire to depart Brighton is proving rather dramatic, isn’t it?

Roberto De Zerbi says Trossard has been dropped for not giving 100 percent. Trossard’s agent releases an extraordinary statement saying his client has been mistreated, disrespected and ignored by De Zerbi and the only solution is for the Albion to initiate a sale.

Trossard is then rumoured to have fled to the continent via the Eurotunnel, staging his own personal attempt at Brexit.

Whilst Brighton were busy demolishing Liverpool 3-0 with Solly March scoring twice, Trossard was in one of those horrible French motorway stations where you have to pay for a piss and the only food option is a rock hard jacket potato. Probably.

The only way it could get more EastEnders is if we were to find out Trossard had screamed at De Zerbi on the training ground “YOU ‘AINT MY MOTHER” and De Zerbi had shouted back “YES I AM.”

What to make of it all? Other than regretting it did not reach the stage where De Zerbi chucked Trossard off the team bus to follow in the footsteps of the great Mark McGhee and Mark McCammon after Burnley away 18 years ago.

Take off the blue and white tinted spectacles for a minute and Trossard wanting a move is understandable. He is 28-years-old and has one last big contract left in him whilst he is at his peak.

If he does not move now to a club playing European football and competing for trophies, then his chances of ever doing so look pretty slim.

The way Trossard and his agent have gone about it however has been pretty classless. The less-than-subtle pleas issued via the media to anyone would would listen to come and sign Trossard as he would not be penning a new Brighton deal were just about bearable.

In October, Trossard told BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club “It is difficult to say anything about it now,” when questioned on his Albion future.

A month later and he spoke to Play Sports after being linked with a move to Chelsea, saying: “It is very difficult to answer that. That will have to wait until after the World Cup. I’m not on it at all right now. Brighton and the World Cup are the next goals. Afterwards, we’ll see where it ends.”

Since returning from Qatar, Trossard’s attempts to engineer a move have stepped up a gear. The drop off in his performance levels was noticed by everyone from fans in the stands to De Zerbi himself.

If Trossard thought that by downing tools he could force through a move, then he was very much mistaken. De Zerbi has shown who the boss is and has come out of Trossardgate looking stronger for it, helped of course by the fact that the Albion are winning games and banging in goals despite their top scorer having been dropped and flounced off back to Belgium.

In making his want to leave Brighton so public, Trossard and his agent have tanked his reputation at the Albion.

Had they stayed quiet and waited for a January or summer move to materialise naturally, Trossard would have departed with the blessings and best wishes of Seagulls supporters in the same way Ben White and Yves Bissouma did.

Trossard would have been remembered for his part in turning Brighton from relegation candidates into a club who look capable of establishing themselves in the top 10.

Instead, he will be recalled as the bloke who did a runner on the Eurotunnel to try and secure a transfer. What a disappointing way for the Albion career of such a talented player who has provided so many memories to end.

Not only has Trossard tarnished his time at Brighton, but he may also be taking a big gamble with his career as a whole.

With the Albion pushing for European qualification, the only English clubs who currently represent a step up on Brighton are the big six and the Saudi Sportswashers.

Spurs have had a laughable £12 million bid turned down. Yet you look at what Trossard will be greeted with at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and wonder if he would fit in.

He is not getting a starting spot ahead of Harry Kane, Song Heung-min or Kulusevski in Spurs’ front three. Would Antonio Conte trust him at left wing back?

And speaking of Conte, how would Trossard cope being managed by an even fierier and demanding Italian than De Zerbi? Trossard would never be allowed to disappear from games or show the sort of inconsistency he has at times in a Brighton shirt playing for Spurs.

Arsenal are said to be considering Trossard as an alternative to Mykhaylo Mudryk after being gazumped by Chelsea for the Ukrainian winger, but again that does not look like a particularly good career move if he wants to play regular football.

Trossard would find Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli ahead of him in the pecking order. Then there is the culture which Mikel Arteta has spent three years crafting at the Emirates.

Much of the Gunners’ current success has been attributed to Arteta clearing out troublesome individuals like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

With his and his agent’s recent antics in angling for a transfer, Trossard has shown the world that he is not the greatest team player.

Does Arteta want someone with that sort of attitude coming into a close knit group and potentially upsetting the apple cart at a time when Arsenal are closer to the Premier League title than they have been at any point in the past 19 years?

Chelsea have a billion forwards on their books already and seem determined to sign a billion more in January. A move to Stamford Bridge would reunite Trossard with Glow Up Graham, but how many games does he start with so much expensive firepower at the Blues?

Newspaper reports have frequently reiterated that Trossard’s agent has offered him to all of the European Super League Elite Six, so we can reasonably assume the lack of any rumour linking him to Manchester City, Liverpool or Manchester United suggests none of those are interested.

That leaves only Newcastle. Trossard was one of the first signings Brighton made after Dan Ashworth arrived at the Amex, making St James’ Park a credible destination.

Miguel Almiron and Joelinton currently occupy the wide positions in Eddie Howe’s 4-3-3, meaning a transfer to the Toon again leaves question marks over whether Trossard forces his way into the starting XI.

It looks increasingly like the only way Trossard can get his big transfer and move to a club where he plays regularly is if a foreign option come calling.

The name of Atletico Madrid has frequently cropped in stories regarding Trossard’s future over the past six months.

La Liga looks a good fit if for no other reason than playing in Spain might draw more consistent displays out of a player compared to Paul Brooker for his best form coming in warmer weather followed by winter hibernation.

If Trossard instead ends up at Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea or Newcastle, he may well find himself sat on the bench. That is not how a player of his talent should be spending the prime years of his career.

The grass is rarely greener after leaving the Albion. Just ask Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella, whose new supporters have already turned on them after struggling at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Stamford Bridge respectively.

Trossard could have remained at Brighton. He could have attained legend status by firing the Albion to Europe for the first time.

He could have become the club’s highest ever top flight scorer, going onto eclipse Neal Maupay, Glenn Murray and Michael Robinson. He could have become the first Brighton player to notch more than one hat-trick at the highest level.

There seems no chance of any of that happening now. Hopefully the money and the souring of his standing at Brighton through petulant behaviour and selfishness is worth it for Trossard. Because it really didn’t need to end this way.