Who is Nicolas Pepe? Lille star ready for summer transfer between Arsenal, PSG and Bayern

As for the decisive players of the biggest European leagues this season, are an overabundance of familiar names in mind.

Of course, no one has more goals and combined aids than the 45 years of Barcelona star Lionel Messi. Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe is the best of the others with 34.

Eden Hazard of Chelsea (28) and Cristiano Ronaldo (27) from Juventus are also in the game, but do not match the surprising intruder of these iconic figures: Nicolas Pepe.

With 19 goals and 11 badists, 23-Age The striker has become one of the hottest properties in Europe in the last 18 months, after leading Lille to an unexpected second place in Ligue 1.

Doubts about his ability to perform on the big stage were surely dismissed by his virtuoso performance against PSG last Sunday, which led Mbappe to lament that his team was designed to look like "beginners" .

Pepe may not have been the only architect of the incredible victory of Lille 5-1, but there is no doubt that he was primarily responsible for the humiliation of the capital, certainly exhausted.

He was involved in accumulate At the start of the match, Juan Bernat made the mistake that led to the dismissal of the Spaniard in the first half, scored the second goal, then made a bad shot to corner to score the fourth and fifth.

"Pepe has a lot of quality with his speed and strength. He is determined around goal and still dangerous, "said Thomas Tuchel, director of PSG, before the Ivorian dismantled his defense last Sunday after joking that" he can play for us ".

A dream is coming, the LOSC being ready to part with a young man who is destined to become the icon of their project and to become a finishing school for the young talent of the game.

"All clubs are forced to balance their accounts," said Gerard Lopez, owner of Lille, to Cbad + Last weekend. "I think we're going to sell four or five players. The departure of Nicolas Pepe is safe. He has entered a price range that can no longer be paid.

"He has a career choice to make."

And he seems ready to have his choice of clubs.

His performances in PSG have sparked a renewed interest in his services. Lille was hoping to push any shopping club to 80 million euros (about 69 million euros) for a player that they had signed in Angers two years ago. summers for about € 10m.

Liverpool are the latest in date to show interest, but they will have to jostle with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and PSG if they want to seize them. part of the last opportunity in league 1.

To put his campaign in context, he is about to contest the starry season of Eden Hazard before moving to Chelsea in 2012. The Belgian, who was certainly two years younger, scored 20 goals and collected 15 badists – figures certainly not to join a player who was tipped as potential replacement for the 28-year-old in London if he moved to Real Madrid.

This is not necessarily always the case in Lille. Under Marcelo Bielsa, he had a frustrating start to life at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. It was used centrally, in front of the center, as opposed to its preferred role on the wing, from which it could cut in and cause danger in a manner reminiscent of Thierry Henry.

He scored 13 goals in his first season with the LOSC, but 10 of those came in the second half of the season under Galtier, a precursor to the blast that was expected to arrive this season.

"Players like him, it's almost impossible to stop a good day," said his Ivorian teammate Max Gradel, before a meeting with winger Sunday, at the meeting between Lille and his host Toulouse.

"He had an amazing season and I hope he's not going to be on the same kind of form as it was last Sunday against PSG!"

It is unlikely, however, that Pepe's destination will be determined before the end of the season. He will want a club that will play football in the Champions League, just as Lille will surely do, but also he will want to have guaranteed play time to prove himself.

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"When the time comes, I will make my decision," he said in March. Cbad +. "I am focused on this exciting end of the season.

"I do not have a preference where I go, I keep an eye on each league."

That the auction starts!