Maybe Arsenal football club have been playing possum all along in the summer transfer window? Their whole narrative of “we have a really tight budget, we’re not going to do much this summer” might have just been an example of playing coy.
According to multiple reports, Arsenal are set to break their club transfer record in signing Lille winger Nicolas Pepe for £72 million. The BBC’s David Ornstein, known by many football fans as the oracle of Arsenal, reports that the north London side will “pay for the 24-year-old via a series of installments that suit their restricted budget for this summer.”
The article goes on to say that an agreement still needs to be finalized, but “the transfer is expected to be completed in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
The transfer fee would greatly exceed the current record of £56 million, which was paid to Borussia Dortmund for Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang. Despite the departure of Arsene Wenger, the France-Arsenal pipeline remains in full effect, and the Pepe signing, which reportedly would be a five year deal, could be the next chapter in that book.
The Guardian is reporting on this transfer narrative as well, but their account doesn’t have the deal as progressed along as the BBC. Fabrizio Romano reports that Arsenal “lead Napoli in the race to buy him, although the Italian club will make a fresh bid.”
It took a very very long time for the Arsenal transfer window to finally come alive, but a sleeping giant has now been awoken.
The club made a double swoop already this week for Dani Ceballos and William Saliba. And if they procure Nicolas Pepe, it would certainly rankle Manchester United supporters, as the 24-year-old is a player that has supposedly been on their radar for some time.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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