Arsenal are preparing to take a huge loss on Nicolas Pepe this summer as they offer their club-record signing to Premier League rivals in an attempt to recoup some of the transfer fee, according to the Express.
Arsenal signed Nicolas Pepe from Lille in 2019 for a club-record fee, but the dream move simply never panned out the way many would have expected for the Ivorian, with the Gunners now set to bite the bullet and accept a huge loss on the player, even going as far as offering Pepe to rival clubs.
Reports suggest that West Ham are one of the potential sides willing to take on the Ivorian for an estimated fee of around £25million – £47million less than Arsenal paid for him just three years ago.
Unfortunately for Pepe, his stagnation at Arsenal was synonymous with the emergence of young stars, Emile Smith-Rowe, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli, as well as the acquisition of Martin Odegaard – as the pecking order for the attacking midfield department grew significantly, but Pepe could only slide down it.
As Pepe approaches the final two years of his contract at Arsenal, it appears increasingly likely that Arsenal will cash in, as an extension at this point down the line seems more than unlikely.
With all of that being said, should a side of West Ham’s caliber secure a deal for the Ivorian, the potential for mutual reward is endless. Pepe will get another opportunity in England to reignite his career and attempt to rediscover some goalscoring form much like his days at Lille, while West Ham will pay a third of a fee for a winger once regarded as one of his league’s hottest prospects and is still only 26 years of age.
He should leave arsenal losess are part of success