Arsenal ahead of Manchester United in battle for €80m transfer

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Arsenal are reportedly ahead of Manchester United in the running to seal the transfer of Nicolas Pepe as this long-running saga takes yet another turn.

According to Le 10 Sport, it looks like being a two-way battle between Arsenal and Napoli for Pepe’s signature as Lille look ready to sell their star player for around €80million, though the report also mentions Man Utd and Inter Milan as hovering too.

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That fee sounds far too expensive for Arsenal, though it is worth noting that the Telegraph and others continue to link them with a similar style of player who would also be similarly expensive in the form of Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha.

Pepe shone in Ligue 1 last season and would be a superb statement signing by the Gunners to improve on the likes of Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in attack.

The Ivory Coast international would also be an important addition at United if they could get him, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer surely in need of someone like him to come in as an upgrade on the struggling Alexis Sanchez.

Nicolas Pepe shone for Lille last season

The Times recently linked Pepe with Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool as possible Premier League destinations, but Le 10 Sport suggest Napoli are ahead of AFC in the running at the moment.

Still, Arsenal fans have surely been given reason to believe they could yet pull off an incredible signing before the end of the summer, with their club also doing fine work today two announce two new players in the form of Dani Ceballos and William Saliba.

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