Arsenal make £72m bid for Lille forward Nicolas Pepe?

Arsenal have reportedly made an €80m (£71.8m) bid for in-demand Lille winger Nicolas Pepe.

Pepe is widely expected to leave the Ligue 1 runners-up this summer after scoring 22 goals and creating 11 more in 38 top-flight appearances last season.

A number of Europe's top clubs - including Liverpool, Manchester United and Inter Milan - have been linked with a move for the Ivorian, and L'Equipe claims that Arsenal have now joined the race too.

The Gunners have reportedly lodged an opening offer of £71.8m after identifying Pepe as a possible alternative for £80m-rated Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

Widespread reports have suggested that Unai Emery has a transfer kitty of just £45m to work with this summer, meaning that the club will likely have to offload a number of players to be able to afford such a deal.

Pepe is willing to take time over deciding his next move and views a switch to Paris Saint-Germain as his dream transfer, but Lille are eager for a swift resolution and hope to finalise any deal before the end of July.