Turkish club Besiktas are closing in on the signatures of the 28-year-old Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe.
According to a report by L’Équipe, Besiktas are keen on having Nicolas Pepe in their ranks. The 28-year-old has been on their radar for a while now and finally, they look all set to complete his signing.
Pepe’s future at Arsenal has been uncertain throughout the summer. The Turkish club were interested in signing him a few weeks back but the 28-year-old rejected the offer to join them. But, now he seems to have agreed on the move and currently, he is in Paris for his medical.
Post the completion of the medical, only a few formalities will be left and soon Pepe’s move to Besiktas will be official.
Pepe arrived at Arsenal back in the summer of 2019. The Gunners broke the bank and paid €80 million for the services of the 28-year-old. He was expected to be the next big thing in European football. But the promise never really turned into reality.
Overall, he has featured in 112 matches for Arsenal and has contributed towards 48 goals. While he got off to a decent star at the London club, things haven’t gone according to plan over the past seasons.
Pepe was surplus to requirement last season and Mikel Arteta decided to offload him. The Gunners ended up sending him out on loan to OGC Nice. While on loan he featured in 28 matches and managed to contribute with 8 goals.
The 28-year-old returned to his parent club post the end of the 2022-23 season but he was not a significant part of Arsenal’s pre-season. Neither has he made the squad for any of their Premier League games. While there are still around 12 months left on his contract, the Gunners seem to be ready to part ways with the Ivory Coast forward who is not in the plans of Mikel Arteta moving forward.
According to reports, they even considered terminating Pepe’s contract but as things stand they might be able to recover a small fraction of what they had paid to land him at the club.
While the 28-year-old had earlier turned down the opportunity to join the Turkish club, he has agreed to a transfer this time around. With the Arsenal forward undergoing a medical in Paris, the move is expected to be official very soon.
