Journalist Rudy Galetti has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur have not yet given up hope of signing Porto winger Pepe.
The speculation linking Pepe with a move to Tottenham first emerged a week ago when A Bola revealed that the Premier League side had presented an offer of €45m (£38.5m) upfront plus a further €15m (£12.8m) in add-ons for the winger, which was turned down by Porto.
The publication stated that the Portuguese club had made it clear to Spurs that they would have to meet the winger’s €75m (£64.4m) release clause to secure his services.
It was subsequently suggested by Mercado Azul a couple of days later that the 26-year-old’s representative was trying to find a ‘solution’ for his client before the transfer deadline.
Over the past few days, speculation over Pepe’s future has died down and several outlets have reported in the past 24 hours that Brennan Johnson, Ansu Fati and Johan Bakayoko were the three wide-forwards Spurs have their eye on, with the club expected to sign just one (Sky Sports).
Pepe interest is still alive at Tottenham Hotspur
Galetti has now taken to social media to state that Tottenham are still ‘pushing hard’ to land the Porto star.
The journalist reports that the Dragons are refusing to enter into any talks with Spurs and are continuing to demand that the player’s release clause be met.
For that reason, Galetti adds that the deal is a ‘a very complicated’ one for Tottenham to complete. I remain convinced that Johnson is the player that Tottenham intend to bid for. I believe that Spurs’ interest in the likes of Fati, Bakayoko and Pepe is a means to put pressure on Forest and make it clear to the Tricky Trees hierarchy that they cannot demand an unrealistic fee for the 22-year-old.
