Liverpool FC moved quick yesterday to quash rumours that they were currently negotiating a deal with Nicolas Pepe and his French Ligue 1 club, Lille.
The 24-year-old Ivory Coast winger has reportedly been attracting the interest of Liverpool and some other top European clubs thanks to his hugely impressive Ligue 1 performances with Lille in 2018/19.
Pepe managed a brilliant 22 goals and 11 assists from his wide-right position with Lille last season, helping them to a second-place finish in France’s top division, behind Paris Saint Germain.
Reports on Twitter yesterday claimed that Liverpool were in “concrete talks” with Pepe seem to be wide of the mark, however.
The club, as reported by Melissa Reddy at ESPN, say they have no interest in signing Pepe this summer.
‘The Premier League club insist no meetings or discussions of any sort have taken place for the 24-year-old, contrary to reports in France.
Earlier in June, Liverpool’s sporting director Michael Edwards personally reached out to Lille manager Christophe Galtier, informing him the European champions have “zero interest” in the Ivory Coast international.
Liverpool feel they are being used to escalate interest in Pepe, whose valuation is already around £70 million.’
Of course, in recent years Liverpool have become masters of the media game with Jurgen Klopp, in particular, known to mislead reporters on many occasions.
Last summer, The Reds announced Fabinho’s signing the night after their Champions League final defeat in Kyiv. It had been the best-kept secret in football with no reporters or ITKs even aware the club was interested in bringing the Brazilian midfielder from AS Monaco.
This summer, don’t be surprised if one or two more signings take us all by surprise.
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