Arsenal are on the verge of smashing their transfer record to sign Lille winger Nicolas Pepe.
The Gunners had reportedly been working with a meagre £45million budget having capitulated at the end of last season and failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Amid increasing pressure from disgruntled fans, Josh Kroenke, son of the club’s owner Stan, attempted to quell concerns last week and urged supporters to prepare to be ‘excited’.
Arsenal belatedly ramped up their summer transfer summer activity by confirming deals for Real Madrid playmaker Dani Ceballos and Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba on Thursday, and are now on the verge of smashing their transfer record for the third time in two years.
“Aubameyang and Lacazette will not be leaving Arsenal to help finance this deal”
?️ Okay Arsenal fans, @bbcsport_david is here to talk you through the Nicolas Pepe deal and what this means for Wilfried Zaha and Kieran Tierney.#bbcfootball #AFC pic.twitter.com/D6XknU7324
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) July 27, 2019
The north London club are understood to have agreed a £72million fee with Lille, who are happy to receive payment via a number of structured installments.
Arsenal were said to have drafted in super agent Jorge Mendes to help broker a deal and the transfer will now go through once an agreement with Pepe’s representatives has been reached.
Despite their precarious financial position, according to the BBC, Arsenal will not have to sell either of Pierre-Emerik Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette to finance a move for Pepe.
Aubameyang had been linked with a lucrative move to China earlier in the transfer window and more recently has emerged as a reported target for Manchester United who are seeking potential replacements for Romelu Lukaku.
Asked whether the club would consider selling last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner, Emery replied: ‘Not really in our mind. Not really.
‘We are very happy with Aubameyang and we don’t want to sell him.’
Like they’ve never been away ?
This Laca and Auba link up though ?@LacazetteAlex ? @aubameyang7 pic.twitter.com/YJGlNQ2HLc
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 24, 2019
Lacazette, meanwhile, had been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid, the club he nearly joined before signing for Arsenal in what was then a club-record £52m deal in the summer of 2017.
Barcelona, too, were said to be considering the France international as a potential alternative to Antoine Griezmann, but Arsenal’s star strikers will remain at the Emirates for another season, at least.
The Pepe deal does, however, mean Arsenal will drop all interest in Wilfried Zaha but they are said to remain confident of agreeing a deal with Celtic for Kieran Tierney.