Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe has rejected a move to Turkish club Besiktas according to French journalist Loic Tanzi.
Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal) n’ira pas à Besiktas. Le Franco-ivoirien a refusé la proposition turque #Mercato
— Loïc Tanzi (@Tanziloic) August 20, 2023
Pepe, 27, joined Arsenal from Lille in 2019 for a club-record fee of £72 million.
However, he has struggled to live up to expectations at the Emirates Stadium, scoring just 16 goals in 80 appearances.
READ: Who is Arda Guler? The 18-year-old ‘Turkish Messi’ Wanted by Europe’s Biggest Clubs
The Ivory Coast international was offered the chance to join Besiktas who wanted to Arsenal to terminate his contract so he could join on a free.
It is not clear why Pepe has rejected the offer, but it is possible that he is hoping to stay in England or that he is waiting for a better offer from another club.
Arsenal are now looking for other options to offload Pepe. They could terminate his contract, but they would likely have to pay him a significant amount of money to do so.
Another possibility is to loan him to a club in a lower league, where he would be more likely to get regular playing time.
The situation with Pepe is a difficult one for Arsenal. They need to get rid of him to free up space in their squad and to reduce their wage bill, but they are also under pressure to get a good fee for him. It remains to be seen how the situation will be resolved.
Pepe has fallen out of favor at Arsenal since Mikel Arteta took over as manager and has not played a single minute of first-team football so far this season.
The 28-year-old is under contract until 2024 so this could be the last chance Arsenal have to sell him and avoid paying his wages for another season.
