Arsenal have reached an agreement with Lille to sign Nicolas Pepe for €80m, paid in instalments, according to the BBC’s David Ornstein.

Ornstein reports that Arsenal have reached an €80m agreement with Lille to sign Pepe on a five-year contract, though they still need full agreement with the player’s agent.

That doesn’t appear to be a problem though, as the BBC journalist claims the deal is ‘set to be closed in next 24/48 hours’. Napoli reportedly also had an agreement with Lille, but it was rejected by the agent.

Arsenal have reached an agreement with Lille to sign Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe for ~€80m, paid by instalments to fit #AFC budget. 5yr deal, agent agreement still needed but set to be closed in next 24/48hrs. Napoli also have agreement with #LOSC but agent rejected proposal

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) July 27, 2019

This is a complete turnaround from Ornstein’s previous reporting on the €80m bid, when he claimed BBC sources said Arsenal hadn’t submitted one and didn’t have the level of money being reported to do so.

Clearly, Arsenal found a way to make the bid work using an instalment structure, despite the restricted budget.

Pepe scored 23 goals and assisted 12 last season, as well as winning plenty of penalties. He’d add a big goal threat to Arsenal’s wide areas if the deal goes through. Fingers crossed.