Roberto De Zerbi gives reason for dropping Leandro Trossard amidst Tottenham transfer speculation

The Brighton manager confirmed that Trossard had not been selected for his matchday squad to face Liverpool at the Amex Stadium tomorrow (January 14).

The Belgium winger has reportedly been training alone for the last week as punishment for leaving a training session early in preparation for the Seagull's FA Cup third round tie against Middlesbrough last Saturday (January).

De Zerbi said: “Leandro isn't the list of players for tomorrow, he knows very well my opinion. In the last training session before the Middlesbrough game, when he understood he didn't play, he left the session without saying anything, which is not good.

“Then on the Monday, I spoke with him and I explained this attitude and behaviour I don’t like. He knows very well that if he want to play with Brighton and me, he has to work hard and he has to run. He has to be in the right way.”

Trossard has so far scored seven goals this season and was picked in the Belgium squad for the 2022 World Cup.

Following a disappointing campaign with the Red Devils in Qatar, the winger has failed to add to his goal tally and was dropped from the Albion starting line-up by De Zerbi for the 4-1 win away at Everton on January 3.

The player was then dropped from the squad altogether for last week’s trip to the Riverside Stadium. At the time, De Zerbi said this was due to a calf issue.

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Trossard has 6 months left on his original contract but the club have an option to extend this by a further year.

The 28-year-old has been linked with a move away from the south coast in this transfer window. Tottenham are the most recent club reported to be monitoring the player’s situation.

De Zerbi told the media he was not interested in the transfer rumours, but said Trossard was still able to play for his side, as long as he willing to give ‘100 per cent’.

The Albion boss said: “We are not a big team like Real Madrid or Barcelona, we are Brighton and we need players who work like the other. I don’t know what the problem is.

"I want to be honest and clear, I am open with him and am happy to take a step back. If he wants to play, I am willing to listen to him, but he has to understand that I only want players who work hard and play for the team 100 per cent.

“I’m not sure about other things like the transfer market and whether he want a change of team, it’s not my problem. I am a coach and only a coach. The only discussion is to play for the team is to work and to run on the pitch.”