Arsenal are prepared to terminate the contract of record signing Nicolas Pepe this summer should a buyer for the Ivorian not be found, and could do the same with right-back Cedric Soares.
Pepe, who joined the club in 2019 for a fee of £72m from Lille, has failed to live up to his price tag and has spent the last season out on loan with Ligue 1 side Nice, where he scored 8 times.
However, the French side are not set to enter into discussions over a permanent move for the Gunners winger, which will once again leave Arsenal looking to offload the 28-year-old this summer.
According to the Telegraph, Arsenal are ‘hoping that potential buyers will come forward in the next few weeks’, with Pepe set to be available at a snip due to being out of contract next summer as things stand, and no plans to renew his deal in north London.
However, should no buyer come forward, they add that ‘there is a possibility that his contract could be terminated by the end of the summer window’, in a bid to get one of the club’s highest earners off the wage bill.
The same can be said for Cedric Soares, who is determined to fight for his place in Mikel Arteta’s side but is not part of the Arsenal plans for next season with the club actively searching for a new fullback, a move which would push the Portuguese defender yet further down the north London pecking order.
Though costly, these moves would free up space in the Arsenal squad and wage bill for a big summer of spending, which they are looking to kick off with another record signing, this time West Ham’s Declan Rice, in a bid that could cost them upwards of £100m.
