Nicolas Pepe transfer stance ‘revealed’ as Arsenal summer exit looms
Recent reports suggest that Nicolas Pepe, a winger for Arsenal, may be willing to sign a permanent deal with OGC Nice in Ligue 1 during the upcoming summer.
Pepe was signed by Arsenal in 2019 for a record-breaking fee of £72 million after impressing with Lille. While he has shown some potential, the Ivorian player has struggled with inconsistencies and has been surpassed by Bukayo Saka, a Hale End academy graduate, in Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up.
In an effort to get more consistent playing time, Pepe was sent on loan to Nice by Arteta last summer. According to L’Equipe, Pepe is interested in staying with the club beyond the expiration of his loan.
However, OGC Nice doesn’t have a buy option in Pepe’s contract, and he will only have one year left on his Arsenal contract this summer.
As a result, it is unlikely that Arsenal will be able to recoup even a third of the £72 million they spent to acquire the skillful attacker four years ago.
After spending two months out with a knee injury, Pepe has caught the eye of Nice manager Didier Digard, who took over from Lucien Favre earlier this year.
“The team was already doing well when he left,” Digard said when Pepe returned to action on Thursday for a Europa Conference League win against Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol.
“Before his injury, he was performing very well. It’s an advantage for us. We don’t see it like, ‘We find someone while it was going well, how are we going to do it?’
“Not at all, he is an extra weapon. He’s capable of making a difference at any time, we saw that against Tiraspol. He can eliminate his opponents one on one. I think he is feared by the opponents, so he can free up space for us.”
Nicolas Pepe transfer stance ‘revealed’ as Arsenal summer exit looms