As far as records signings at a club go, Nicolas Pépé has been one of the more disappointing, as the Ivory Coast international never managed to convince at Arsenal.
Arriving from Lille in an €80m deal, the forward struggled for form in England, and eventually fell out of favour under Mikel Arteta.
In order to get his career back on track, Pépé agreed to a loan at OGC Nice in France, where he could try and put his Arsenal woes behind him, all the while still getting handsomely paid, as revealed by L’Equipe.
He’s done so to a certain extent, scoring eight goals in 25 appearances for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions, but the 27-year-old is expected to return to the Emirates in the summer.
When that happens, a decision will have to be made at Arsenal on what Pépé’s future looks like, but, in the meantime, they will continue to pay a chunk of his wages.
That’s what L’Equipe estimate on Thursday, explaining the forward renounced 25% of his wage packet when he agreed to head to the south of France, but what was left was still too much for Nice to handle.This meant the Gunners still needed to ‘assume’ some of his salary, leaving the Ligue 1 side to pay €300k/month.As for his future, ‘nothing is acted’, but it’s pointed out ‘nothing is impossible’, as Pépé will only have one year left on his contract at Arsenal.
That’s a hint he could stay at Nice going forward, with his salary then spread out over a longer contract.
