Arsenal have reportedly offered their vacant technical director role to Roma man Monchi. The Spaniard will take the role if they activate the £1million buyout clause in his current contract which expires next year. During their time together at Sevilla, the former goalkeeper oversaw a transfer policy that found hidden gems and bargain signings that won trophies as well as bring in an impressive return when later sold on. It seems Monchi is already working on Arsenal deals and approves move for this Ligue 1 star. Monchi will spearhead Arsenal’s push to sign Lille winger Nicolas Pepe this summer, according to reports. Arsenal have reportedly reached an agreement with Monchi, Roma’s current sporting director, and are lining him up to join this summer. The Gunners have been searching a technical director following Sven Mislintat’s departure as their head of recruitment earlier this month.
Mislintat played a key role in identifying several targets during his time at the club, and according to reports earlier this month, Pepe had been his preferred target for Arsenal’s problem area on the right side of Unai Emery’s attack. Arsenal have a long-standing interest in the Ivory Coast winger that while spearheaded by now former head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has not entirely dimmed since the German’s departure.
Pepe is unlikely to come cheap and with a reported price tag of around £50million it is unlikely Arsenal would be able to sign him and strengthen their defence as they want to unless they qualify for the Champions League. But should Arsenal be able to put together a sufficiently compelling offer for Pepe Lille would not be able to hold on to the 23-year-old wide forward. Luis Campos, the club’s sporting director, told Telefoot : “We are not a rich club,It means that if a really good proposal comes in for Pepe, we have to sell him.”
Pepe might be worth putting together such a proposal. He has scored 16 times in 25 Ligue 1 games this season, providing a further 10 assists. Only Paris Saint-Germain duo Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani have more goals to their names. The Gunners face heavy competition for the Ivorian winger, with Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain all considering a move at the end of the season.
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