With few weeks left before the end of the current transfer window in the English Premier League transfer window, Arsenal have reportedly registered an interest in signing Porto’s Brazilian forward during the summer transfer window. Coincidentally, the new player is also named Pepe.
He would become the second Pepe to have joined the club in the last three years after the Gunners signed Nicolas Pepe from Lille in 2019 for £72million. However, the Ivory Coast international has struggled to make a regular impact in north London – having scored just one goal during the 2021-2022 campaign.
Arsenal have registered an interest in Brazilian forward Pepe after watching him excel with Porto last season. According to A Bola, Arsenal approached the Portuguese side over a potential deal for Pepe while they were negotiating terms for his former teammate Fabio Vieira. The Premier League giants were told they would need to part ways with £60m to be in with a chance of signing the 23-year-old.
However, Mikel Arteta’s side were reluctant to match their asking price and subsequently presented Porto with a £25.5m offer. The Portuguese side were quick to reject the tabled bid – telling Arsenal they needed to fork out double to acquire his services.
Arsenal have not presented Porto with another offer, but they are expected to make one in the coming days – according to reports. Meanwhile, Arsenal have been told to bite the bullet and get rid of their current Pepe by former striker Alan Smith.
He said: ‘As a lot of clubs find out, getting rid of Premier League players when they’re on such good contracts is so difficult. ‘At times, Arsenal have had to take hits on [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang and [Mesut] Ozil just to get them out of the door.
He went on to say: ‘Pepe is the big one because they bought him for over £70million. They’re not going to get anything like that back. Nothing like it.
‘It was one of the worst transfer amounts, not as bad as Lukaku but it was up there. He doesn’t appear to be [Mikel] Arteta’s cup of tea. ‘He’s not consistent and not many coaches like that. So, if they could get Pepe out of the door then that would be a bonus.’
However, the £72m flop has insisted he is ‘focused’ and ‘determined’ to make his mark in London.
Pepe has picked up interest from Leeds, Sevilla, Lyon and Marseille but he played down links of a move away on social media. ‘I worked hard during the summer. Changed a lot of things,’ Pepe wrote as a caption in combination with a picture showing him in pre-season action in the States.
The Ivory Coast international went on to say: ‘I’m focused and determined with Arsenal and my team-mates.’ The 27-year-old played second fiddle to Bukayo Saka last season and as a result made just 19 appearances across all competitions in 2021-22.
He is likely to fall further down the pecking order during the 2022-2023 campaign as the Gunners have strengthened their attack with Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira arriving from Man City and Porto.
Source: DailyMail
