Manchester United made a €90m (£84.6m) offer for Nicolas Pepe before the Ivorian joined Arsenal instead, according to Le10 Sport. The French publication believes that the Red Devils’ failure to offload Romelu Lukaku earlier in the transfer window scuppered their plans.

Pepe sealed his £72m switch to the Emirates on August 1st, but United only managed to agree a deal with Inter to sell Lukaku a few days before the transfer deadline.

The failure to replace the Belgian is the cause of major frustration among fans of the Manchester club, and it does beg the question why the club did not just try to snap up Pepe, regardless of the Lukaku deal.

It is believed that the Red Devils were one of two clubs who offered more than the Gunners for Pepe with Atletico Madrid said to have made an €80m offer for the 24-year-old but, just like United, their bid depended on other players leaving first.