Lille forward Nicolas Pepe is set to join Arsenal for a club-record signing of around €80m.
According to BBC Sport, Pepe will put pen to paper on a five-year deal and become Arsenal’s record signing, overtaking Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gunners will pay for the 24-year-old via a series of installments that suit their restricted budget of around £40m for this summer. Although, an agreement between Arsenal and Pepe’s representatives still needs to be finalized. But the transfer is expected to be completed in the next 24 to 48 hours.
The Lille star took Ligue 1 by storm last season, netting 19 goals and providing 11 assists in 32 games to catch the eye of several top clubs. Pepe scored a total of 22 goals for Lille last season and satisfies Arsenal’s need for a wide player with pace and high technical ability.
The Gunners have beaten off stiff competition for the forward’s signature, most notably from Serie A side Napoli. His agent rejected the offer on the table from Napoli, with the 24-year-old set for a blockbuster move to England instead.
Despite their precarious financial position, according to the BBC, Arsenal will not have to sell either of Pierre-Emerik Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette to finance a move for Pepe. Asked whether the club would consider selling last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner, Unai Emery replied: “Not really in our mind. Not really. We are very happy with Aubameyang and we don’t want to sell him.”
Arsenal belatedly ramped up their summer transfer summer activity by confirming deals for Real Madrid playmaker Dani Ceballos and Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba on Thursday, and are now on the verge of smashing their transfer record for the third time in two years.
The Pepe deal does, however, mean Arsenal will drop all interest in Wilfried Zaha but they are said to remain confident of agreeing a deal with Celtic for Kieran Tierney.
So, now the Gunners’ fans can finally be happy and excited about their new campaign.
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