U.S. men’s national team forward Ricardo Pepi is inching closer to a deal to join Fulham before the transfer window closes on Monday, with the Premier League club reportedly agreeing to a deal with PSV for the player’s signature.
Fulham will pay a transfer fee of roughly $44 million, according to Fabrizio Romano, while Pepi has already agreed to personal terms with the London-based club. The Cottagers have reportedly improved upon previous bids for Pepi’s services, the most recent of which came in at $38 million, according to ESPN. The Pepi deal now hinges on PSV’s ability to line up a replacement for the 23-year-old, who has 11 goals and two assists in 22 matches across all competitions for the Dutch side.
For Fulham, Pepi could pitch into their attacking operation in the short-term after losing forward Rodrigo Muniz to a hamstring injury in November and selling Adama Traore to West Ham United in January. In the long-term, Pepi could become a central figure of their attack if Raul Jimenez leaves on a free transfer next summer.
How quickly Pepi slots into Fulham’s team, though, is unclear. Pepi broke his arm while scoring in January during a 5-1 win against Excelsior and is expected to be out for roughly two months. He could miss the USMNT’s final international window in March before head coach Mauricio Pochettino names his World Cup roster in late May, with Pochettino admitting that it is too early to say when exactly Pepi will return to the pitch.
“We’ll see with Ricardo,” Pochettino said in a press conference last week. “I think we’ll see how he’s going to come back and start to play and to perform and of course, he’s a player that is on our radar, Ricardo. Hope that he can be fit and I think we have time to assess and of course, we are going to make the best decision for him and for us.”
How risky is a move before the World Cup?
Pepi joins USMNT defender Alex Freeman, who recently transferred from MLS’ Orlando City to Spain’s Villarreal, in making a major move in the months before the World Cup, which comes with inherent risks, something Pepi already knows about. Pepi’s pre–2022 World Cup transfer from FC Dallas to FC Augsburg proved disastrous, contributing to his absence from the U.S. World Cup roster. Over two seasons with Augsburg, he appeared in just 16 matches and failed to score. A 2022–23 loan to Groningen revived his career, as he scored 13 goals in 31 games, earning a move to PSV ahead of the 2023–24 season, where he has since produced double-digit goals each year.
Regular minutes at the club level are a prerequisite for cracking one of Pochettino’s rosters and will likely be taken into extremely serious conversation as he makes his picks for next summer’s tournament, which means Pepi and Freeman may have to hit the ground running to ensure they are in the best possible position to perform at the World Cup. That is especially true for Pepi, who could theoretically carve out an important spot in the USMNT’s attack.
Monaco’s Folarin Balogun seems like Pochettino’s preferred starter in the No. 9 position but the head coach has a few options to pick from, a list headlined by Coventry City’s Haji Wright and Ricardo Pepi. They are not alone in the depth chart, though – Derby County’s Patrick Agyemang has become a contender despite only earning his first cap a year ago, while Josh Sargent will hope to be in the mix. (Sargent himself may also be on the move before the window closes on Monday, attempting to force a move from Norwich City to Toronto FC, though playing time is not the reason for his push to join the MLS club.)
Pochettino, though, has a more positive perspective on transfers during the winter window, even if a move from the Netherlands to England might be a considerable step up for Pepi.
“For me, always, it’s positive,” Pochettino said. “When you change, it’s because you are convinced you are going to be in a better place than the place that you are, no? And I think that is why, always, I am very optimistic, I’m very positive in all the moves … All the coaching staff, we need to support our players and always because it’s too many things that can happen around. It’s always being supportive and [to] give the confidence that the decisions they are going to make are the best decisions. That is why I am not worried, I am not concerned about if some players are going to move in that transfer window because always, what I expect [is] the best thing.”
