- Nicolas Pepe, the 27-year-old winger, reportedly has no future at Arsenal, and the club is expected to seek a permanent move for him this summer.
- Despite being the second top-scorer for Nice this season, his high wages are considered a potential hurdle for his transfer.
- Although Pepe possesses considerable talent, his price tag may not be attractive enough for clubs looking to acquire him, leading to a complex situation for Arsenal this summer.
Nicolas Pepe has no future at Arsenal, according to a report but it’s going to be hard to find a buyer for him this summer.
Goal’s Charles Watts reports that it’s “clear” that 27-year-old winger Nicolas Pepe “has no future at Arsenal”, and that the club will be looking to move him on permanently this summer.
But Pepe’s high wages are expected to prove an obstacle to his departure, and the Ivory Coast international’s situation isn’t viewed as an easy one to resolve.
These comments echo a claim Watts made earlier in the season, that Arsenal need to cut their losses with Pepe and find a way to get him off the books.
At the time, it still seemed possible that OGC Nice might look to bring Pepe in permanently, having taken him in on loan this season.
![Journalist claims Arsenal 27yo has 'no future' at the club 2 Nice's Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe (R) celebrates with Nice's French defender Melvin Bard after scoring his team's third goal during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and Montpellier Herault SC at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on January 11, 2023. - (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)](https://dailycannon.com/static/uploads/2023/03/fbl-fra-ligue1-nice-montpellier-1024x682.jpg)
But reports from France suggest that’s now unlikely, with the Ligue 1 club option not to sign him again this summer.
Pepe’s deal didn’t contain an option to buy to begin with, so it was always fairly unlikely he would move there for good.
Pepe has made 28 appearances for Nice this season, scoring eight goals and assisting one.
A couple of injuries have badly affected the consistency of his campaign, with Nice boss Didier Digard admitting Pepe rushed back to be part of their Europa Conference League quarter-final against FC Basel, only to suffer a new setback afterwards.
Despite those difficulties, Pepe is Nice’s second top-scorer this season. But an eight-goal campaign is unlikely to convince Europe’s big spenders to splash the cash on him.
It’s going to be an interesting summer, because Pepe is simultaneously too good to be sitting around not playing whilst also not being enticing enough for the price you’d have to pay to get him on your team.