Fulham have had their latest offer for Ricardo Pepi accepted by PSV Eindhoven, according to ESPN. He will join the Cottagers in the summer but what does the US international bring to west London and how can he bolster the Fulham attack?
Fulham have had their bid of £34.5 million for Ricardo Pepi accepted by Dutch league leaders PSV Eindhoven, according to ESPN.
It is said that personal terms are not an issue, and the 23-year-old will go for his medical at Craven Cottage next week, the same report added.
Fulham were hopeful they could secure Pepi’s services in January but with the Dutch side unable to find a suitable replacement in time, the Texas born forward remained in the Netherlands.
The Cottagers never stopped with their admiration for Pepi though, and appear to have got the deal done ahead of the summer transfer window.
The deal is a major coup for Fulham and a major profit gain for PSV, who bought Pepi from Bundesliga side Augsburg in 2023 for £9.5m.
But who is Ricardo Pepi and what can he bring to Fulham for the 2026/27 season and beyond?
Who is Ricardo Pepi?
Born in El Paso, Texas on 9 January 2003, Pepi began playing football at the age of four years old.
He was picked up by FC Dallas in 2016 and spent three years in their academy.
Aged 16 and 164 days old, Pepi made his senior MLS debut for FC Dallas.
The following season, still aged only 17, Pepi scored his first MLS goals, finishing the season with two goals from 17 appearances.
It was the season after when he made his breakthrough, notching 13 goals in 31 matches.
That form saw him earn a move to the Bundesliga and Augsburg, but his time in Germany did not quite work out and he finished with 0 goals from his 15 appearances.
Midway through the 2022-23 season, Pepi joined FC Groningen in the Eredivisie, where he scored 12 goals in 29 matches.
That form saw PSV interested and there he has settled and become a vitally important player, scoring 11 goals in 18 matches in last season’s Eredivisie and another 10 in 19 matches this term, with a total of 39 goals in 95 matches for the Dutch side thus far.
Pepi has also taken to international life like a duck to water and has scored 13 goals in 34 matches for the senior US team.
What can he bring to Craven Cottage?
Pepi is a natural goalscorer and has succeded in both the MLS as an 18-year-old and in the Eredivisie, with his only tough run coming at Augsburg.
With Fulham’s striking options for this season being Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz, it made sense that it would be an area they would be looking to fix.
Fulham have some serious creative talent, with Harry Wilson, Alex Iwobi, Oscar Bobb, Kevin and Samuel Chukwueze an impressive array of wide talents, as well as Emile Smith Rowe and Josh King, who both have the ability to kick on further.
Raul Jimenez has scored eight goals in the Premier League this season for Fulham. Image Credit: ReutersBut in Jimenez, who at 34 has a contract that expires this summer, Fulham have a player who has always been solid if not spectacular, as shown by his eight goals and three assists in 29 Premier League matches this term.
Muniz has managed just one goal in his 13 appearances and has struggled to prove he should be the man to take over from the Mexican forward as the main man.
Up steps Pepi, who, combined with the impressive creative talent on show for the Cottagers as well as a defence that is comfortably mid-table despite missing Antonee Robinson for most of the season, and this Fulham side is shaping up very nicely indeed.
Regardless of whether Fulham are in Europe next season, Pepi is a hugely exciting addition.