Jose Mourinho has hailed Arsenal for attracting the talents of Nicolas Pepe, describing him as 'a quality player in the making".
The 22-year-old is expected to be confirmed as the Gunners' latest signing as he puts the finishing touches to his £72million move from French side Lille.
Since leaving Manchester United, Mourinho has spent plenty of time watching football around the continent and says that after watching Lille on many occasions last term, Pepe is a credit to the club and they way in which they operate.
Speaking to L'Équipe , he said: "I don't know what my next club will be. But everyone knows that he [Pépé] is a quality player in the making.
"He's played almost all the games and he's been decisive to the team. But to talk about Mbappé and Neymar, it's to talk about two of the best players in the world.
"I've got some friends at Lille and it's really easy to get there. I've already said this, actually, that going from my house to Lille is like going from my house to Tottenham or Arsenal's stadiums: two hours sometimes!
"It's also about learning about a football that I don't know particularly well. I'm friends with Luis [Campos - adviser to Lille president, Gerard Lopez], and some Portuguese assistants to Cristophe [Galtier].
"The goalkeeping coach was my first goalkeeper when I became a coach. He was 14 and I was 24. There's Cristophe, as well. When we played Saint-Étienne [with United], we exchanged numbers and we had a good rapport. I feel at home over there."
Jose Mourinho's next destination may be up in the air, but it looks like Nicolas Pepe knows exactly where he's going to be playing his football next term.
