Bayern Munich remains unconvinced with Lille’s Nicolas Pepe despite being heavily linked with the winger.
The attacking department of the Bayern Munich squad is in urgent need of reinforcements this summer. After the departure of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, Die Roten need to add at least one world class winger to the team.
In past one year Bayern has been linked with numerous attacking players. Nicolas Pepe is one of these players that has been reported as a top transfer target for the Bundesliga champions. The recent reports in France suggested that Bayern is negotiating with the player and Lille in order to complete this deal.
The German media has been skeptical about the reports linking Pepe to Bayern. Speaking to GGFN, SportBild’s Christian Falk insisted that the German champions do not believe that Pepe is the type of player they want to sign this summer. He further added that it would be a huge surprise if Bayern goes for Pepe despite missing out on the first choice transfer targets.
"“Pepe – they scouted him a lot of times.”“I know that the board had said no to a transfer because he’s not the quality of Bayern Munich, but if they don’t get any winger, perhaps they have to rethink Pépé! But I would say no.”"
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Lille have already confirmed that Pepe will be sold this summer and numerous top clubs are showing strong interest in the forward. The player is currently involved with Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations, so his decision is likely to arrive next month.
Pepe was one of the most productive wingers in Europe last season. The 24-year-old forward was involved in 34 goals across all competitions. Pepe can be categorized as an inside forward instead of a traditional winger. He tries to exploit the space between the full-back and center-back instead of isolating the full-back to stretch the opponents’ defense. The Ivory Coast international operated on the right flank for Lille last season but he can also play centrally as a number nine.
It is quite astonishing that Bayern doesn’t rate Pepe as they currently don’t have a senior left-footed wide player in the current squad. Moreover, his lethal finishing will add more goals to the squad and reduce the burden on Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker has already urged the club to manage his workload by signing a striker this summer.
Falk also gave an update on the club’s interest in Leroy Sane and Callum Hudson-Odoi. The German champions will be looking wrap up the deal for a top winger before the pre-season training begins in few weeks time. Kovac will also be hoping that the club signs a world class defensive midfielder as they are set to miss out on Atletico Madrid’s Rodrigo Hernandez.