Arsenal recruitment chief Sven Mislintat is ready to up his interest in Lille attacker Nicolas Pepe after the devastating Danny Welbeck blow, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claim the Gunners are preparing to amend their January plans as they face up to the prospect of losing the England international for the rest of the season following the ankle injury he suffered on Thursday night.
The Sun report head of recruitment Mislintat “has been keeping a close eye on Pepe” and Arsenal could make a move for the 23-year-old as they look to abandon their original plan not to sign any players in the winter window.
Good move for Arsenal?
Pepe would certainly be an exciting signing for Arsenal. He has made a huge impact for Lille this season, with eight goals and seven assists from just 12 league games in a major league proof of his calibre. The Gunners are losing a key squad man who might very well not play for the club ever again, and they will need to replace him. Welbeck can play down the middle or out wide, and the Arsenal recruitment team need to sign a player with those skills, in order to ease the burden on main men Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Pepe would not be cheap – a valuation of £44million has been mooted – but he has the pace, trickery, directness and eye for goal that could make him a landmark capture.
This Is Futbol rating 7/10
Likely to happen?
In January? At £45million? It’s unlikely, unless Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal board are convinced that Pepe could be the difference between a top-four finish, something the club have failed to achieve in the last two seasons, or not. That said, the Gunners have pulled off some major deals in recent years, and recruited two big names in January of this year, in Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
This Is Futbol rating 3/10