Manchester United pushing to beat Arsenal and Liverpool to £70m man

Manchester United are set to step up their pursuit of Lille winger Nicolas Pepe, according to The Sunday Times.

Having finished sixth in last season’s Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to make some big money signings provided the profile of the player is right, with Pepe falling into that category.

Despite interest from across the continent the Ivorian’s wage demands aren’t likely to be an issue moving from Ligue 1 and at 24 he should still have his best years ahead of him.

The 2018/19 campaign was a sensational one as far as Pepe was concerned, producing similar figures in terms of goals and assists to the last winger from Lille to set the Premier League alight in Eden Hazard.

One of only ten players across Europe’s top five leagues to reach double figures for both goals (22) and assists (11), Pepe has attracted admiration from a number of Premier League clubs, with United keen to fend off interest from the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.

Following such an outstanding campaign, Lille have slapped a price tag of £70m on the forward’s head, but with the Red Devils crying out for right sided options in attack that may not deter them.