Friday, March 29, 2024

Report: Arsenal have reached an agreement with OGC Nice for Nicolas Pepe

Arsenal have reportedly reached a full agreement with OGC Nice for the loan signing of Nicolas Pepe, despite late interest from other clubs.

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According to a report from William Humberset from Nice Matin, the Ligue 1 club have finally settled on terms after two weeks of negotiations for the 27-year-old.

The report states that Nice will partially cover his weekly £140k salary and the deal will not include an option or obligation to purchase.

Late interest was ignited by Leicester City with the Premier League side prepared to cover his wages in full but the final decision rested with Pepe.

The news was then backed up by heavyweight journalists, who confirmed the story on Twitter:

It’s believed his desire is to return to France where he first made his name at Lille before Arsenal made him their club record signing, paying £72m for his services.

But since then, things haven’t really worked out for the Ivorian and he will now play away from the Emirates for at least a year as the club look to get him off the books.

You can look at this as a win for Arsenal, who could look to sell Pepe for a substantially larger fee should he manage to reignite his form in the South of France.

Reports elsewhere suggest that OGC Nice want to finalise this deal and complete all formalities by Thursday in order to register Pepe for their game against Marseille on Sunday.

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