According to TuttoJuve, Arsenal are willing to include Nicolas Pepe in a deal for Juventus forward Dejan Kulusevski as negotiations continue.
What’s the story?
Well, Arsenal are said to have already made the proposal to Juventus, although the Serie A side aren’t interested in having Pepe.
However, they haven’t issued a hands-off warning to the Gunners.
TuttoJuve believe Juventus are still willing to negotiate, but would just prefer cash – they are believed to want €35m (£29.5m) for their No.44.
That would signal a small loss for the Italians, as they spent £29.7m to sign Kulusevski from Atalanta when he was just 19.
TuttoJuve state that Arsenal hope to find another Freddie Ljungberg in Kulusevski, as the pair are both Swedish.
Arsenal’s Dejan Kulusevski proposal surely spells the end of Nicolas Pepe
Under Unai Emery, Arsenal spent £72m on Pepe.
Now, Mikel Arteta can’t even offload him for £29.5m, with Juventus preferring to take cash over the Ivory Coast international.
That says it all – clearly, the top clubs do not rate Pepe.
Now, this development surely spells the end of his time under Arteta.
Arsenal have given up hope of receiving anything near the £72m they spent on Pepe, and now, it seems he’s just being viewed as a bargaining chip.
The 26-year-old has featured sporadically as Arsenal enjoy a ten-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
It’s telling that Arteta has overseen such a fine run after deciding Pepe was no longer going to start every game.
In our view, the Ivorian’s time in north London is over.
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