REVEALED: Feyenoord lead race to sign USMNT star

Tom Weber

• 1 Jun 2023 16:40 BST
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the status of Ricardo Pepi.

The USMNT star has been loaned to Groningen by Augsburg this season, impressing despite the club's embarrassing relegation and attracting interest from Dutch giants PSV and Feyenoord. The latter are currently sait to have the best chances to land him.

"Both clubs want him, but Feyenoord now want to press ahead," claims transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on the Here We Go Podcast. "They have already been in contact with FC Augsburg, he will leave that club anyway. He wants to stay in the Eredivisie for another season."

Ruud van Nistelrooy surprisingly departed PSV last week, which is complicating the club's transfer business. Before they can make a move for Pepi, "PSV first want to resolve the situation around the new head coach," says Romano.

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The 20-year-old has been monitored by the two Dutch giants for some time, but a major stumbling block for Feyenoord and PSV is the striker's price tag.

Augsburg paid a club record €16.4 million in January 2022 to bring the 13-time US international to Germany and they would like to recoup at least a large chunk of that when Pepi, who has not enjoyed his time at the club, inevitably leaves.

Pepi's resurgence

The move to Augsburg proved ill-advised for both sides - it almost appeared to be more of a marketing exercise than something properly thought through. The American was freed from his Bundesliga misery on the final day of the summer transfer window when he joined Groningen on loan.

He was seen as the successor to Jörgen Strand Larsen, who had left for Celta Vigo. The transfer was a great success: Pepi managed to score 12 times in 29 Eredivisie matches, chipping in with three assists as well.

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This means that he was involved in almost half of Groningen's 31 Eredivisie goals. Primarily because of this poor goal haul, the so-called Pride of the North were relegated despite Pepi's contribution, having accrued merely 18 points from 34 games.