Newcastle United are keen on signing Nicolas Pepe from Arsenal during the January transfer window, according to Jeunes Footeux.
The Gunners’ club-record signing has struggled to impose himself at the Emirates Stadium.
He is way down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta and has never really looked like cementing a place since his £72 million arrival from Lille.
This season, Pepe has started five Premier League games but has registered just one assist.
With that in mind, Arteta may look to offload the player in January as Arsenal prepare to wash their hands of the 26-year-old.
In total, Pepe has made 98 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 25 goals and claiming 18 assists.
He typically operates on the right-wing but his performances haven’t warranted him earning regular starts.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will be desperate for the January transfer window to open.
With PIF set to back him with an ambitious transfer kitty, he will hope to attract some statement signings.
Pepe simply needs some love and perhaps Howe is the man to revive his fortunes.
The 26-year-old isn’t a bad player. During the 2018/19 campaign, he scored 23 goals and claimed 12 assists in Ligue 1 for Lille.
Exciting: Newcastle should welcome chance to sign Pepe
The Ivorian is likely to be a loan signing in the first instance and Arsenal are likely to assist with his £140,000-a-week wages.
Newcastle won’t be alone in the race to take him until the end of the season. Everton and Crystal Palace are also in the mix to sign him too.
Howe will have an idea of the type of player he wants to bring in and Pepe could fit his criteria nicely.
The new Newcastle boss likes energy levels to be intense in his team and the Arsenal man loves to excite.
Pepe may seem like something of a risk but with Newcastle likely to be in a relegation battle come January, they could do a lot worse than sign Pepe.
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