In an interview with RMC Sport, Lille President Gerard Lopez confirmed that Liverpool are currently in talks to sign forward Nicolas Pepe, however no offer has been submitted as of yet.
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Malgré les démentis, le président de Lille, Gérard Lopez confirme dans une interview exclusive @RMCsport des dis… https://t.co/t5RoFtqheV (@mohamedbouhafsi)
It seems as though the Ivorian is focussing on his time at the African Cup of Nations before making any decision, meaning eager Kopites will potentially have to wait a week or two before they start tracking the skies.
Pepe has been flying high in the French top-tier over the past couple of years and has reportedly caught the attention of Europe’s elite clubs, Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain to name just two.
Whether you rate French football highly or not, 35 goals and 15 assists in 74 league games for Lille is highly impressive, and it’s no surprise that Lille could demand around £80m for Pepe’s services this summer.
His numbers for last season, in particular, are remarkable, having contributed to 33 goals in 37 league starts, with only Kylian Mbappe bettering those figures.
The 24-year-old was brought to Les Dogues by fabled manager Marcelo Bielsa back in the summer of 2017, as part of the club’s €70 million spending spree.
However, the current Leeds boss lasted just five months in charge at Lille, and was criticised heavily for playing Pepe as a centre-forward, an experiment that didn’t pay off.
Christophe Galtier, his successor, was quick to change that though and Pepe would soon become the focal point of Lille’s attack from the right-hand side.
In the second-half of that season, the switch in position saw him net 9 times, whilst also providing 5 assists. Only Florian Thauvin and Memphis Depay secured better numbers in that same time period.
The 2018/19 campaign would definitely prove to be Pepe’s needed breakthrough year though.
His consistency improved dramatically, and the longest spell he went without a goal or an assist across the season was just four games.
He managed to net in both fixtures against runaway champions PSG, including a Man of the Match display in Lille’s 5-1 demolition job at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
From watching the player on several occasions last season, it didn’t take long to realise that one of his key traits is his frightening directness and forward-thinking.
His explosive pace and comfortable dribbling means he will always fancy himself in 1v1 scenarios against the defender.
YouTube: Nicolas Pépé Vs Nice ( HOME ) 01/02/2019
The perfect example of this is his goal against OGC Nice back in February of this year.
When experienced defender Dante squares up to him, look how much the winger pushes the Brazilian back, allowing a better angle to finish beyond Walter Benitez.
This goal definitely draws similarities to the type of finish we may expect from current Red, Mohamed Salah.
Prompting the question, is Nicholas Pepe seen more as a replacement for Salah should the Egyptian eventually move on? Or, can Jurgen Klopp manage to fit both into his starting eleven?
We will have to wait and see.
