Arsenal have been told that they will have to smash their current transfer record by nearly £20m if they wish to sign this breakout star in the January window.
According to the Metro via Telefoot, the Gunners will have to pay almost double what they expected to sign Ligue 1 star Nicolas Pepe in January.
The Ivorian has scored 12 goals this season whilst also laying on five assists to his teammates. The only player to have scored more than Pepe in Ligue 1 this season is superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Nicolas Pepe has shone for Lille this season, attracting interest from Arsenal as well as some of Europe’s leading clubs.
Lille chief Luis Campos spoke to Telefoot and gave his assessment on what Pepe’s value is:
‘€80million. But [any club] will also have to convince the player.’
Arsenal’s current record transfer is that of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the star joined from Borussia Dortmund in the January transfer window for a fee reported to be £56m by BBC Sport.
Arsenal are in desperate need of bolstering their forward ranks in the transfer window due to Danny Welbeck’s season-ending injury. Youngster Eddie Nketiah is the only backup forward to Alexandre Lacazette and Aubameyang at the Emirates.