Report: Barcelona, Arsenal Target Nicolas Pepe Valued at €30M by Lille
Ligue 1 club Lille reportedly want €30 million (£26.6 million) for star forward Nicolas Pepe, who has been linked with both Barcelona and Arsenal.
According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Sport Witness' Naveen Ullal), Pepe's value has tripled since he made the move to Lille a year ago thanks to his development and excellent start to the 2018-19 campaign.
The Ivory Coast international's future has been topic of speculation for weeks, and in August, Lille President Gerard Lopez revealed Barcelona were interested in Pepe, per RMC Sport (h/t Ryan Taylor of the Daily Express).
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The player himself as spoken out about the rumours, ruling out a winter exit from the club in an interview with Telefoot (h/t Sport Witness, via Tashan Deniran-Alleyne of Football.London).
The 23-year-old has scored five goals in eight Ligue 1 appearances this season, with three of those goals coming in the win over Amiens in September. Here are his highlights from that match:
Pepe has developed nicely over the past few years, impressing with both Angers and Lille. Les Dogues have an excellent reputation for nurturing young talent and previously boasted the likes of Eden Hazard, Dimitri Payet and Gervinho.
Their latest starlet has stood out for his production this season, trailing only the very best in that regard:
Pepe has excellent technical and athletic ability, but it's his positioning and vision that make him a standout prospect. He also has solid size, and he could make the switch to the striker position in the future.
He's a prospect to keep a close eye on, even if a January moves seems unlikely. Lille have made a solid start to the Ligue 1 campaign while traditional heavyweights like AS Monaco and Marseille have looked wobbly, and there's a belief the club could push for a UEFA Champions League spot.
They will need their star forward to keep up his good form if they want to qualify for the Champions League proper for the first time since 2012-13, making him almost impossible to move midseason.
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