Let’s take you back to the January transfer window, when Hull City were frantically trying to bring a whole new squad in, and Newcastle were calmly attempting to bolster their squad for a strong push for promotion in the second half of the season.
Both clubs had very different goals this campaign, yet in January, they shared a target: Angers SCO’s Nicolas Pépé.
Both Marco Silva and Rafa Benitez were keen to bring in the Ivory Coast forward, who was having a rather good season with the Ligue 1 side, and a price tag of around €10m was slapped on his back as an invitation.
That, however, has changed.
Since the fifth of February, the 21-year-old hasn’t started a league game for Angers, coming off the bench in six out of a possible seven opportunities, without ever influencing matches during his 30 minute or so cameos.
The manager, Stéphane Moulin, hinted the forward hasn’t been in the right condition to play, while the arrival of Jonathan Bamba on loan from Saint-Etienne has blocked his path to the first-team.
Yet, this doesn’t mean a move to England is nailed on for the summer, as Pépé’s priority, according to L’Equipe, would be to sign for Marseille, and continue his development in France, just surrounded by better players.
The ability to learn from the likes of France internationals such as Dimitri Payet and Florian Thauvin, while possibly playing European football next season, is certainly an appealing factor, even if the financial side of things might be more attractive in England.
L’Equipe expect Angers’ valuation for the summer to be the same as in January, meaning Marseille, and also Lyon, will need to decide whether they would be ready to spend an amount they were reluctant to a few months ago.
If not, we could very well see Nicolas Pépé strutting his stuff at the KCOM Stadium or St James’ Park next season.
