Journalist Charles Watts has revealed there is a confidence at Arsenal that they will see Nicolas Pepe depart this summer.
According to recent reports, the Ivorian winger could be set to leave the club on loan in a move to France, joining Ligue 1 outfit Nice for the season.
Indeed, in a recent article by The Athletic, the 27-year-old was even left out of the Gunners’ matchday squad against Bournemouth with the winger in talks over an exit.
While talking about the situation on his YouTube channel, Watts said that Arsenal are ‘very hopeful’ the deal will get done, even if it could be ‘complicated’ due to the player’s high wages. On top of that, he revealed that someone he has spoken to is ‘as confident as you can be’ that Pepe will be leaving shortly.
He explained: “Arsenal are very hopeful that that deal will happen. It’s been complicated, it’s not been an easy one, talks have been going on with Nice.
“But financially, it’s quite difficult for Nice because of the wages that Pepe’s on, how much are Arsenal going to contribute to those wages – all those sorts of conversations are ongoing.
“But Arsenal are hopeful it’s going to be done. Arsenal want it to get done, Nicolas Pepe wants it to get done – that’s why he wasn’t playing [on Saturday].
“I’ve spoken to someone at the end of last week about it and they were pretty confident – as confident as you can be, because it can always change.
“Everyone’s working towards the fact that Arsenal are hopeful that this deal is going to get done. They mentioned maybe some time early next week it could potentially go through. But again, that’s not set in stone.”
Will Nicolas Pepe ever play for Arsenal again?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Nicolas Pepe and Arsenal…
Pepe is yet to be involved in any of Arsenal’s three Premier League games up to this early stage in the season, and so it’s no shock to hear just how much the club want him out the back door before the transfer window slams shut on 1st September.
However, considering he joined in 2019 for a club-record fee of €80m (£72m) plus add-ons – signing from Lille on a five-year contract – it’s safe to imagine his wages will be pretty high.
And so, this could well be an issue for Nice when looking to loan Pepe, as Watts points out. Despite that, though, it seems as though the player and both clubs will be able to agree upon a deal that sees the 27-year-old leave, at least on a temporary basis, this summer.