Player waiting for Man Utd offer despite £72m agreement with Arsenal

Arsenal are leading the race to sign Nicolas Pepe from Lille as they have entered ‘advanced talks’ with the player, reports claim.

BBC Sport’s David Ornstein revealed that the Gunners had made a breakthrough in negotiations over the Ivory Coast forward, with the deal expected to go through by the end of the week.

They are far from the only suitors for Pepe however, with up to five clubs thought to have either agreed a fee with Lille or expressed a strong interest in doing so.

Napoli are known to be among them after Carlo Ancelotti confirmed as such, and The Guardian suggest they will table a ‘fresh bid’ in the coming days.

They add that Arsenal ‘lead the race’ however, and ‘are understood to be in advanced talks’ over a five-year contract offer.

The Sun does state that Pepe is still waiting on an offer from Manchester United, however it is possible that the Red Devils are looking at other targets.

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