Nicolas Pépé, relatively unknown at the start of the season by 90% of the Premier League fanbase, is now expected to be the story of the summer on the French transfer market.
Clubs such as Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Inter, Manchester United and Arsenal have all been linked in the past, yet one team, who could do with an extra player on the wings, hasn’t really been mentioned as much: Liverpool.
Thursday saw Gazzetta dello Sport reveal the Reds had ‘enquired’ about Federico Chiesa, currently at Fiorentina, suggesting they were looking for a new right-winger, either to allow Mohamed Salah some extra breaks or to move the Egyptian a bit more through the middle.
Regardless of their reasoning behind the interest, it is said to be there, and Le10 Sport seem to confirm Liverpool’s hunt for a new inside forward as they claim Jürgen Klopp’s side have come forward for Pépé.
Reportedly ‘impressed’ by his performances, Liverpool have apparently ‘ticked’ the Ivory Coast international’s name on their summer shortlist, and enquiries have also been made on what kind of deal it would take to prise Lille’s star from their grasp.
No figures are mentioned in the article, but previous reports suggests the Ligue 1 side will be looking for a minimum of €60m, which puts him close to being on par with the €70m Fiorentina want for Chiesa.
That’s what potential and talent costs these days, even for a player who might not start every game at Anfield.
L’Equipe brought Liverpool into the picture a couple of days ago, saying the Reds are part of the ‘British clique’ keen on his services. Now the interest is further backed up in France, perhaps it means Klopp’s men are seriously part of the chase.
