The fate and future of Lille top player Nicolas Pepe has turned into a summer saga after media speculated that he almost reached an agreement with three European football clubs. So far, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Napoli have expressed interest. Because of this situation, it seemed like the negotiation and transfer period would last for quite some time and we wouldn’t know Pepe’s future anytime soon.
Earlier, the reputable journalist from Italy Fabrizio Roman surprised everyone when he claimed that in fact, the club that was closest to signing Pepe was the British Premier League Arsenal. Now, this has been confirmed by the British journalist and Arsenal expert David Ornstein who tweeted that Arsenal reached an agreement to sign Pepe from Lille in the next 24 to 48 hours. He also said that Napoli sent an offer, but the player’s agent rejected the proposal.
Furthermore, he reports that Pepe will sign a five-year contract that will come with a fee of an astounding $89 million. Because this transfer by far exceeds Arsenal’s planned summer transfer budget of $49.5 million, part of the deal will be paid in installments.
Pepe will be the fourth reinforcements for Arsenal this summer.
