Arsenal are looking forward to getting rid of its record signing Nicolas Pepe, but fear they would have to pay him to ensure he leaves the club.
The 27-year-old winger joined Arsenal for a whopping £72 million from Lille, but Bukayo Saka’s consistency on the right wing had made Pepe not to be considered as a starter under Mikel Arteta.
Nicolas Pepe has not started a Premier League game since October 2021 and doesn’t believe he has a future at the club going forward.
The winger, who is currently on loan at a French club, OGC Nice, has an extra year left on his Arsenal contract and a weekly salary of £140,000.
His current wages have been a stumbling block, and Arsenal are resigned to paying the flop part of the £7 million as his contract is not yet due.
Arsenal are not getting any interested parties willing to sign Pepe on a permanent deal.
The London side may terminate his contract, and he will continue his football career next season as a free agent.
OGC Nice owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is also among the Manchester United bidders, had suggested they may be willing to sign the player on a permanent basis.
But there are no indications on whether the French club is ready to pay enormously for Pepe when the transfer window opens.
Since Arteta became the manager of Arsenal in 2019, he has eliminated a series of senior players from the squad.
Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Lacazette, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasinac, Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers, and David Luiz left Arsenal as free agents when the club received no transfer fee for them.
That is worth £340 million in departures with no return.
However, this justifies the Arsenal Sporting Director’s Edu Transfer Policy, which claims that “if a player is over 26 years old, on big wages, and doesn’t perform, it kills the club.”
Other players Arsenal Are Likely To Get Ripped Off At The End Of The Season
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who is on loan to Southampton and hasn’t been quite impressive with the club, is likely to go to the Championship for next season.
Another player who may be eliminated is Sambi Lokonga, who plays for Crystal Palace.
The squad is already filled with the two most talented defensive midfielders in the world.
The consistency of Thomas Partey and Jorginho have made Lokonga a want away player.
Nuno Tavares has been a big name at Olympic Marseille, and the French club may sign him to a permanent deal.
Pablo Mari, Cedric Soares, and Alex Runarsson are also likely to get their contracts terminated because clubs may not consider them in the transfer window.
What do you think about Arsenal’s decision to get rid of Pepe and other players? Please air your view in the comment section.
