At 29, Nicolas Pépé still has energy to spare.It’s been two years since I did a pre-season. And I need it to become the fast player I was before. I’ve really learned a lot in the last few years. Of course I’m the same player. I’m getting older, which is normal, but I’m still the same player I was before.“, he hammered home in an interview given to the BBC these last weeks.
Now in the prime of life, the former LOSC player needs playing time, and above all confidence, which he has not always been able to have in recent seasons. During his time at Nice in 2022/2023 (19 matches, 6 goals), he had provided some reasons for hope, but had only six months to express himself in a faltering collective. Last season, the Ivorian international had regained his health at Trabzonspor, in Turkey, where he was able to be decisive and prove that he still had some left in him.
Villarreal tries the Pepe bet
“We listen to all offers, then it is my representatives who will inform me of the real intentions of a club. And if they are not serious offers, I will not listen to them. But we will see what happens. A return to England? I do not exclude it.“, Pepe had told the BBCdriven by this spirit of revenge after his time at Arsenal, which he considers unsuccessful. Today, however, it is in Spain that the left-hander will now take up residence. This Sunday, Villarreal made the arrival of the 29-year-old player official.
“Villarreal CF has reached an agreement with Nicolas Pépé for which the Franco-Ivorian footballer will play in yellow for the next two seasons, until June 30, 2026. The new talented player of the Yellow Submarine, left-footed, is a right winger, although he can also play in any offensive position. Unbalancing, fast, powerful. A pure spectacle for the Submarine”says the club’s statement, which was to strengthen after the departures of Alexander Sørloth to Atlético de Madrid and Ben Brereton Díaz to Southampton.
