Arsenal to intensify interest in Ligue 1 star amid stiff competition for signature
According to reports in Spain from Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), Arsenal are ready to step up their interest in Lille star Nicolas Pepe.
The Ivory Coast international has made a flying start to the Ligue 1 season and played the most prominent role in the club’s revival.
Having battled relegation from France’s top-flight for much of the previous campaign, Pepe’s performances in the second half of the season helped secure Lille’s survival, scoring 13 times over the course of 2017/18 in the league.
The 23-year-old is well on course to eclipse that tally this time around, with six goals in nine appearances thus far, while a further four assists mean that he is one of only five players to have had a direct hand in ten league goals this season. The others are Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard, so the the wide forward is in esteemed company.
Players to have a direct hand in 10+ league goals this season (goals & assists combined):
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 13, 2018
Kylian Mbappe (8 goals, 3 assists)
Neymar (8 goals, 3 assists)
Eden Hazard (7 goals, 3 assists)
Lionel Messi (6 goals, 4 assists)
Nicolas Pepe (6 goals, 4 assists)https://t.co/1jEhQOteXw pic.twitter.com/WPrmP9L1lT
His form, earning a WhoScored.com rating of 7.73, has caught the eye of a number of top clubs on the continent, and the claim from the Spanish outlet suggests that Barcelona have joined the race for his signature. It also states that, as a result, the likes of Arsenal and Bayern Munich are ready to make their intent clear in a bid to sign Pepe.
Lille value their prized asset at €30m as things stand, but if his form persists that may well rise, with the player recently quelling any speculation that he may make a move in January.