Liverpool turned down the opportunity to sign Nicolas Pepe, according to journalist Josh Williams on the Liverpool Echo‘s Blood Red podcast on Saturday.
Arsenal signed Pepe from Lille in the summer of 2019, after the Reds had been linked with him.
The Ivory Coast international is yet to hit the heights that his £72million fee suggested, however, scoring 11 goals in 54 appearances.
At the time, there was a feeling that Liverpool may have missed out on a top player, but current evidence suggests that isn’t the case.
Speaking on Blood Red, Williams claimed the Reds opted not to sign Pepe, even though he may have shone under Jurgen Klopp:
Liverpool were vaguely linked with him a few years back, but I think Liverpool actually shot that one down quite a bit, but I’m inclined to think that if he did come to Liverpool, [Jurgen] Klopp would have used him really efficiently.
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Pepe is clearly a talented winger, possessing a lovely left foot and quick feet, but he doesn’t have the substance of the truly top class wide man.
His current scoring rate is nearly at a ratio of one goal in every five games, which is nothing to write home about, given how much he cost Arsenal.
Pepe’s fee was far higher than what Liverpool paid for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, for example, but they have scored 104 and 86 goals in 165 and 181 appearances, respectively.
Pepe is still only 25, in fairness, but it looks as though Klopp and Michael Edwards were right not to move for him.
