Why Nicolas Pepe should join Wolverhampton Wanderers despite Lille manager’s comments

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Christophe Galtier thinks Pepe should join a Champions League club rather than an “intermediate step”.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been linked with a move for Lille striker Nicolas Pepe over the past few months but they will not be impressed by comments made by their manager regarding his player’s future.

The Ivory Coast forward has scored 16 goals in just 25 Ligue 1 matches this term – and 17 in all competitions – and was linked with Wolves as well as fellow Premier League sides Arsenal and Everton in January, according to the Birmingham Mail.

In the outlet, Lille head coach Christophe Galtier is quoted as saying: “Nicolas Pepe is having a great season and he will continue to improve. He has to go to a Champions League club. In my opinion, he does not need an intermediate step to go as high as possible.”

Ouch.

Interestingly enough, this week, a Wolves player who has been linked with a summer move to a pretty big Champions League club has in fact signed a new contract at Molineux, Romain Saiss committing until 2021 amid reported interest from Atletico Madrid.

It’s also worth looking at some of the players who have joined over the course of last summer and this season, and the clubs they used to play for – Diogo Jota and Jonny from Atletico Madrid, Willy Boly from Porto, Rui Patricio from Sporting Lisbon, and Ruben Vinagre and Joao Moutinho from Monaco.

All these clubs can be considered elite, and three made it into the group stages of the Champions League, while one (Sporting) was in the Europa League – we’re talking recruits from big clubs that have come on board at Molineux for what is turning out to be a sensational project.

In addition, Wolves have a charismatic and talented manager in Nuno Espirito Santo, himself coming from Porto, and the team is playing swashbuckling football which is reaping dividends, sitting seventh in the table and in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in – let’s not forget this – their first season back in the top flight.

There is something special going on at Wanderers and, should Pepe decide to ignore his manager’s comments and eventually join the West Midlands club, he would be part of a close-knit, high-calibre collection of players which is progressing nicely and could most likely push for Champions League qualification by next season.