Premier League strugglers Southampton are reportedly keen on Lille’s Ligue 1 star Pepe, but so are Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Lille could soon be the victims of their own early-season success. Les Dogues narrowly avoided relegation last season but they have made an outstanding start to the new campaign, sitting third in Ligue 1 ahead of the likes of Lyon, Marseille and a struggling Monaco side.
Nicolas Pepe has been the star of the show. The Ivory Coast attacker has scored eight goals already while providing five assists, establishing himself as one of the continent’s most in-demand attackers as a result.
Goal-shy Southampton have been one of the teams most heavily linked with the former Angers forward, France Football reporting that they had a £12.5 million bid rejected in the summer. The Sun added that the Saints are still keeping a close eye on 23-year-old Pepe.
The quicksilver forward has been lauded by a former Southampton hero who is now his Lille teammate – none other than Jose Fonte.
“He can reach the highest level, he could play for a Real Madrid, a Barcelona – any team,” Fonte told the Times.
“He has to continue to want to learn, to have his feet on the ground, continue to work and progress every day. That’s the only way he can reach and maintain a high standard of play. But it’s clear he’s got the talent.
“These are the little things that will get him to the very top, and that is where he has to be in two or three years.”
Whether Pepe has now progressed so much that he is out of Southampton’s reach remains to be seen. The Times adds that Lille value the in-demand forward at £44 million – which would make him comfortably the club’s record signing – and it is understood that Premier League champions Manchester City have joined the race.
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