Liverpool’s fierce rivals Manchester United have leapfrogged them in the race to sign Reds transfer target Nicolas Pepe, according to The Times.
The newspaper claims that the Red Devils have held advanced talks with the Lille winger in recent days, making firm on their long-standing interest in him.
Their report states that Jurgen Klopp’s team are interested in the £70million-rated Ivorian, but have yet to make an official offer for him, instead contacting his representatives to gauge his interest in a move to Anfield.
Arsenal and Everton are also thought to be looking at the 24-year-old. However, United are hoping to finalise a deal through the sale of attacker Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan.
OPINION
Well, Pepe would appear to be the transfer story set to dominate the summer from a Liverpool perspective. For months now we have been reading various reports on how the Reds are interested in the Lille star and want to bring him to Merseyside etc. etc. However, no actual progress has seemingly been made. If Klopp was really interested in signing the forward, wouldn’t he have done something about it by now, other than contact the player’s representatives to see if he’s keen on a move to Anfield? Surely he would be, they’re European champions for goodness sake. However, it appears that, if Liverpool are interested, they have just been usurped by their fierce north west rivals. United, you would have to say, certainly need the player more. They are an absolute mess at the moment and someone of Pepe’s quality would be a god send for the Old Trafford side. If they can get Lukaku off the books then this could well happen, but Liverpool, with their multitude of attacking options, likely won’t be too crestfallen if the Ivorian does join them.
