Leeds United could be in hot seat in race to sign Nicolas Pepe
Leeds United could have been awarded a renewed chance to sign Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe as the Gunners ready a cull of their squad.
According to The Sun, up to 11 Arsenal players are set to be transfer listed this summer with the Ivorian one of them potentially on the chopping block if Mikel Arteta can find a winger having missed out on former Whites man Raphinha.
Victor Orta has previously expressed an interest in signing the 27-year-old [Diario Sevilla] who joined the club from Lille for a whopping £72million but that keenness has cooled since Luis Sinisterra has joined from Feyenoord.
But the Colombian is now injured and will miss Leeds’ opening game of the Premier League season at home to Wolves on Saturday (6 August) and that could spark the flame once again.
They will have to take a big cut on Pepe after spending a club-record fee on him in 2019 if they want to sell him this summer and Leeds United could be a team that makes a move.
Jesse Marsch is still actively searching for new recruits after having to deal with a very small and injury-ravaged squad last season despite Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Darko Gyabi, Tyler Adams and Sinisterra already signing this summer.
The combination of another knock and Arsenal’s willingness to sell Pepe to fund their own transfer endeavours could put Orta back in the driving seat in negotiations if the American manager still wants another winger to add to his armoury.
Raphinha’s exit to Barcelona has created yet more room for new signings too but there are positions elsewhere that need attention first such as striker, left-back and goalkeeper.
In other Leeds United news, the left-back problem may have a temporary fix for the visit of Wolves as Marsch gives a big hint in his friendly team selection.