Nicolas Pepe is all set to make a move to the Emirates after Arsenal agreed on a deal worth £72m with LOSC Lille.
According to Express, the North London club got into the negotiations at the very last minute beating Italian club Napoli to get the deal over the line. The winger is going to have his medical for Arsenal at the end of next week.
And now a journalist from Italy, Ciro Venerato has given a few details as to how Arsenal pulled this one off from under the noses of Napoli. Venerato told CalcioNapoli24:
‘Mega offer from the Gunners: €10m signing bonus, more bonuses for the next five years, and mega commission to the twelve agents.
‘To Lille, the Gunners will pay €80m plus a further €10m in bonuses, so a total of €90m. Even the Blue [Napoli] leadership confirms the news.
Pepe goes to Arsenal and it is impossible to match the London club’s mega offer.’
The fee that has been agreed between the Gunners and Lille is a large one so it will be paid in installments. What Arsenal have been able to do is incredibly smart especially given the fact that they do not have a large budget to work with.
But the real clinching factor happens to be the commissions that will be paid to the agents. This was much higher than what Napoli were able to offer and that was the move that finally convinced Pepe’s entourage. Arsenal understood how the market worked and were able to steal Pepe from Napoli.
When Pepe finally does make a move to London, he will be all set to earn around £105,000 per week from the Gunners. He will become the fourth signing of the summer for Arsenal after the arrivals of Gabriel Martinelli, Dani Ceballos and William Saliba.
This is exciting times ahead for the Gunners fans who will be happy to see such talents move to their club. The thought of seeing Pepe combine with players like Ozil and Lacazette is a mouth-watering prospect. And the fact that the Gunners have been able to attract a player like Pepe without Champions League football is significant.
His performances in Ligue 1 last season had led to the biggest clubs go after him but to the credit of Arsenal, it is they who have signed him. Let us hope that the move is officially confirmed soon.
