Arsenal guns for £80m youngster

Arsenal has submitted an astronomical offer of 80 million euros in a bid to sign Lille sensation Nicolas Pepe. The Gunners have reportedly made the 24-year-old forward a priority signing after a move for his Wilfred Zaha hit a snag.

Pepe has been heavily linked with a move away from France following his stellar season which saw him register 22 goals while assisting 11 in 38 games. Despite failing to replicate his club form at the Africa Cup of Nations for Ivory Coast, the likes of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are believed to be keen on recruiting the winger.

According to L’Equipe, Unai Emery’s Arsenal has now emerged as front-runners in the race for Pepe and have already made a formal approach by submitting a club-record bid of 80 million euros. The news publication claims that the Ivorian international and his entourage were informed of this bid on Saturday and negotiations are expected to commence in the coming days.

Nevertheless, L’Equipe insists that Pepe is not keen on a switch to the Emirates but rather favors a move to Paris Saint-Germain. The only complication blocking the player’s desired transfer is that the Ligue 1 champions cannot afford to sign him unless Neymar secures his purported move to Barcelona.

On the other hand, Lille is increasingly growing frustrated of the Ivorian’s persistent delay on choosing his next destination ahead of the new season. The club wants the attacker to sort out his future as soon as possible and his agents are already speeding up the process by making him meet every interested club’s manager to discuss his role before a decision is made.