Nicolas Pepe is on the verge of joining Arsenal
Nicolas Pepe is on the verge of joining Arsenal

Nicolas Pepe transfer: Arsenal expected to complete club-record move within 24 hours


Lille president Gerard Lopez expect Arsenal to complete the club-record 80million euro (£73m) signing of winger Nicolas Pepe in the next 24 hours.

Ivory Coast International Pepe scored 22 goals in Ligue 1 last year and had been previously linked with the likes of Manchester United and Napoli.

The 24-year-old, though, is now on the verge of completing a move to the Emirates Stadium.

Any deal is expected to include Arsenal paying in instalments, while the overall fee will eclipse Arsenal's previous record - £55million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018.

Speaking to French media outlet RMC Sport on Wednesday, Lille president Lopez said: "He is the one who made the decision, I think it should be (confirmed) in the next 24 hours.

"It is 80m euro fixed. If we pushed this deal out a little bit longer, we could have had five or six offers of the same nature.

"In talking with Nicolas and his agents, the discussion centred on a few clubs so we preferred to focus on the projects that interested the player."

Player stats comparison: Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha - both summer targets for Arsenal

Europa League finalists Arsenal have made three signings so far this summer.

Striker Gabriel Martinelli, 18, joined earlier in the window before a season-long loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos was announced last week.

The signing of William Saliba from St Etienne was confirmed just hours after Ceballos, but the 18-year-old France youth international will spend the next season back on loan at the Ligue 1 outfit.

A move for Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney is, meanwhile, still in play despite the Scottish champions knocking back two offers from Arsenal, while centre-half Shkodran Mustafi has been linked with a move away.


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