Besiktas are eyeing up a loan deal for Arsenal flop Nicolas Pépé after it was made clear he will not be released from his contract with the Gunners.
That’s according to journalist Gökmen Özcan, who says the Turkish side are exploring their options to get the Ivory Coast winger.
Pépé has returned to Arsenal from a loan spell at Nice last season but does not appear to be a part of Mikel Arteta’s plans moving forwards and has subsequently been linked with a move away before ethe end of the transfer window.
Reports have suggested that he was in talks with Arsenal to terminate his contract entirely and bring a permanent end to a disastrous spell at the Emirates following his €80m move from Lille in 2019.
Besiktas were keen to take him up if that happened but Özcan now reports that it has been made clear he is ‘unable to terminate’ his contract with Arsenal.
What the value of that clause would be isn’t mentioned but it seems unlikely that Arsenal would sanction such a deal given Pépé’s contract is set to expire in 2024.
They’d need him to sign a new deal before a loan, even with a purchase clause, would make sense, but that potential deal is now being explored, nonetheless.
🚨Şenol Güneş kapatmadan Beşiktaş için Talisca konusu kapanamaz.
Nicolas Pepe, fesih yapamıyor. Arsenal'le opsiyonu kullanıp satın almalı kiralamayla gündeme gelebilir.
Stat için Gazprom'la başlayıp Qatar Airways'le devam eden görüşmeler, Beko Park olarak sonuçlanacak gibi.
— Gökmen Özcan (@gokmenozcan) August 15, 2023
