ARSENAL flop Nicolas Pepe has forfeited 25 per cent of his salary to secure a loan move to Nice, reports suggest.
The Ligue 1 side have reached an agreement with with Gunners that will see them pay half of Pepe’s £140,000 a week wages.
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, however, the North Londoners are paying only another 25 per cent until the end of the season.
The winger has agreed to forgo the rest, which is around £2.5million out of his annual salary.
The Ivory Coast international agreed to that pay cut because he was very eager to return to France and kickstart his career
The 27-year-old joined the Gunners for a record £72million from Lille in 2019.
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However, Pepe has struggled to live up to the hype in the last three years as he only managed a mere 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances across all competitions.
That led him back to France but Nice do not possess an option to make the move permanent.
SunSport understands that Ligue 1 clubs are required to agree a contract with a player before a loan with an option to buy can be completed.
With the Eaglets unable to offer Pepe what he earns at Arsenal, a loan deal without a permanent option is the simplest course of action.
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The forward has two years remaining on his Emirates deal, meaning he will be expected back in North London next summer.
With Pepe temporarily gone, technical director Edu could look to recruit a new winger.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
