Manchester United set to beat Premier League rivals to Lille's Nicolas Pepe

Nicolas Pepe

The 24-year-old was one of the standout players of the 2018/19 Ligue 1 season, scoring 22 goals to help his side to a surprise second-place finish.

According to the Mirror, the Ivory Coast international is a target for United if Lukaku leaves, with Inter Milan desperate to sign the Belgian striker this summer.

The Serie A side have so far failed with their efforts to secure Lukaku’s signature but are continuing their pursuit.

However, the outlet believes that the Lille star’s £70 million price tag will prove too steep for the Gunners, while the Anfield side are not looking to splash out big sums this summer.

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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.