Arsenal's plan for record signing Pepe

Stuart Telford

• 29 Apr 2023 13:30 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal paid Lille a club record €80 million for Nicolas Pepe in 2019, but now he find himself on loan with Nice and out of contract at the end of the season.

There was significant excitement around Pepe's signing in the summer of 2019, the Ivory Coast winger having plundered 22 goals and 11 assists from 38 games in his final Ligue 1 campaign with Lille.

Pepe may have struggled to live up to that price tag, but 21 goal-involvements in the 2020/21 campaign might have suggested he at least had a future at the club - but then Bukayo Saka emerged.

READ: Arsenal to axe SEVEN first-teamers including record signing

The academy graduate - also a left-footed right winger - has blossomed into one of the Gunners' most important players, and Pepe was allowed to return to France at the start of this season having sat on the bench for much of last.

And he may have already played his last game for Arsenal.

Pepe 'unlikely to feature again'

"Nicolas Pepe, Arsenal's record signing, is regarded as unlikely to feature again for the club after he was loaned to Nice this season," report The Telegraph.

"The winger's lucrative contract expires in the summer of 2024, making it difficult for Arsenal to generate a significant transfer fee for him in the summer."

READ: Arsenal warned off transfer target by club legend

In other words, a free transfer is in the offing, with Nice interested in making his stay permanent - although they reportedly face competition from Sevilla, Leeds and Leicester, provided the latter two maintain their Premier League status.

Pepe is on around £5.2m a year before tax at Arsenal, and is still valued at €13.2m per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm.

The player himself is disappointed at how things worked out for him at the Emirates.

"I still have a lot of friends there," he said last month. "I could have been important for this club, but it's the manager's choice…"