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Eyebrows have been raised about Arsenal’s bid for Lille winger Nicolas Pépé, given that the £72 million reported fee is way in excess of their limited transfer budget, which has been reported to be anywhere between £40 million and £45 million.
Whilst the club have denied these figures, it has still raised questions in terms of how they can afford the record £72 million for the Ivory Coast international. Now further details of the deal have been revealed.
Under the terms of the agreement with the French club, Arsenal will pay an initial £20 million up front. The rest of the £52 million will be paid in instalments within a five year period. Pépé had been linked with Manchester United and PSG, whilst Napoli also had a bid for him accepted, only to be gazumped by the Gunners.
Pépé has now flown to London for his medical, with the signing expected to be confirmed in the next few days.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.