Lille give Pepe update and say Gunners deal is close

Lille president Gerard Lopez says he expects Arsenal to complete the signing of winger Nicolas Pepe in the next 24 hours.

Ivory Coast International Pepe scored 22 goals in Ligue 1 last year and had been previously linked with the likes of Manchester United and Napoli.

However, the 24-year-old is now on the verge of completing a move to the Emirates Stadium after Arsenal and Lille agreed a fee of £73million.

Any deal is expected to include Arsenal paying in instalments, while the overall fee will eclipse Arsenal’s previous record – £55million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018.

Speaking to French media outlet RMC Sport on Wednesday, Lille president Lopez said:

‘He is the one who made the decision, I think it should be (confirmed) in the next 24 hours. ‘It is 80m euro fixed. If we pushed this deal out a little bit longer, we could have had five or six offers of the same nature. ‘In talking with Nicolas and his agents, the discussion centred on a few clubs so we preferred to focus on the projects that interested the player.’