The French media aren’t giving up on their story about Arsenal’s €80m bid for Nicolas Pepe, despite how ridiculous that sounds.

Last week, French outlet TF1 reported an €80m bid from the Gunners for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe. L’Equipe then followed up the claims with an article of their own.

Now French outlet Sport are getting involved, claiming the bid is ‘concrete’, and Arsenal executives have officially submitted an €80m offer to Lille.

On the other side of the channel, the English media have roundly denied the rumours. David Ornstein tweeted that there had been no bid for Pepe almost immediately after the rumours first broke, adding that Arsenal don’t have the money for that kind of offer.

Charles Watts and James Benge also weighed in to confirm Ornstein’s update not long afterwards.

An €80m deal for a winger on top of the signings of Kieran Tierney, William Saliba and almost no major sales just isn’t going to happen, and Tierney and Saliba look much closer to a move right now.