Leandro Trossard's agent has released a statement saying that the attacker wants to leave Brighton & Hove Albion.
It was confirmed earlier on Friday by head coach Roberto De Zerbi that the 28-year-old will not be involved in Brighton's Premier League clash at home against Liverpool on Saturday due to concerns over his attitude.
"Leandro knows very well my opinion. The last session before Middlesbrough when he understood he wouldn't play, he left the session without saying anything. It is not good," De Zerbi said at a press conference.
"If he wants to play with Brighton, with me, he has to work hard. He has to run, he has to be in the right way, because we are not a big team – a Real Madrid or Barcelona or another big big team – we are Brighton and we need to play and work like the other players who play at Brighton.
"I am open with him, I am open to take a step back. If you want to play, I am open to listen to him but, he has to understand with me I only want players who work hard, who play for the team 100%."
Trossard was a standout performer for the Seagulls before the World Cup break, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in 13 games across all tournaments, including a hat-trick against Liverpool in a 3-3 draw at Anfield in October.
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However, the Belgium international has started only two of Brighton's five matches since returning from Qatar, and has recently been training away from the first-team squad.
Trossard has been strongly linked with a move away from the Amex Stadium with Tottenham Hotspur and Graham Potter's Chelsea allegedly interested in the attacker, who is out of contract at the end of the season – although the Seagulls are understood to have an option to extend his deal by a further 12 months.
In response to transfer speculation and De Zerbi's comments regarding his attitude, Trossard's agent Josy Comhair has released a statement confirming that the attacker is "ready for his next step" in his career and will not be signing a new deal.
Comhair also claims that De Zerbi "humiliated" Trossard in front of his teammates last week and has informed the attacker that he did not want to see him again.
"Before Leandro left for Qatar, it was Brighton's intention to extend Leandro his contract, this did not happen as parties did not reach an agreement. Leandro has also indicated he is ready for his next step," Comhair said.
"After the World Cup there was an altercation at training between Leandro and another player over an trivial matter. Since then, the manager has not spoken to Leandro, which is obviously not conducive to the atmosphere, as well as performance-wise.
"Leandro still was a first-eleven player against Southampton and Arsenal but against Everton he was on the bench. In the five substitutions that took place then, he was also not among them and this without any explanation.
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"In the run-up to the match against Middlesbrough for the FA Cup, Leandro had already reported calf problems twice. This was the reason he stopped training. This was in consultation with the medical staff.
"Through the manager, Leandro learned that he had to train separately. Last Monday the manager then humiliated Leandro in the group and indicated that he did not want to see him anymore. A manager who has not communicated directly with his player for four weeks is truly incomprehensible.
"It is also the manager who has indicated several times that a transfer is the most reasonable solution.
"It is therefore important that Brighton cooperate in THIS market with a potential transfer, which is beneficial for both parties."
Asked whether Trossard could leave the club in the January transfer window, De Zerbi said: "I don't know the other things about the transfer market - if he wants to change team or not - it's not my problem, I am a coach only. I would like Leo in my squad but only if he wants and if he works hard."
Trossard has scored scoring 25 goals and registered 14 assists in 121 appearances for Brighton across all competitions since joining the club from Genk in the summer of 2019.
Oliver Thomas
