Arsenal have been asked to pay €80m if they want to get their hands on Nicolas Pepe this summer.
The Gunners have reportedly been keeping tabs on the 23-year-old for months now, working on the suggestions of former Head of Recruitment, Sven Mislintat. He is expected to be one of the most sought after players following the 2018/19 campaign.
Pepe has registered 16 goals in 24 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille this season. He was signed from Angers in 2017 for only €10m and now the Great Danes stand to make a hefty profit out of him.
The Metro claims that Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona have expressed strong interests for the player. But Lille president, Gerard Lopez assured us that the player will not be sold for anything lower than their valuation of the player.
He told Canal Plus, “That does not just depend on the club. It also depends on the player. ‘He deserves to play at the highest level. We have offers yes.”
“In England, there are clubs. We have had offers worth €50m. We will not sell for less, we have even refused a €50m bid. We had an offer from China worth €80m with an astronomical salary, but he didn’t want to go.”
With the latest revelation regarding the player, Arsenal understandably might drop out of the race for the winger after hearing his potential transfer fee. Unai Emery is expected to be allowed only half of that sum as his entire budget for the summer window.
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