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USMNT star Ricardo Pepi signs for Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven: transfer fee, contract...
The 20-year-old attracted the attention of the Dutch giants after scoring 12 times for fellow Eredivisie side FC Groningen last season.
Ricardo Pepi has completed his move to PSV Eindhoven after impressing in the Dutch top flight with FC Groningen.
The 20-year-old USMNT forward starred in a Groningen team that was relegated last season, convincing PSV to take a chance on him. After the conclusion of the European season Pepi was not named in the ‘experimental’ USMNT roster for the Gold Cup, giving him time to rest ahead of the new season with PSV.
In a statement released on Friday, PSV’s Director of Football Affairs Earnest Stewart said that Pepi “possesses the qualities we look for in an attacker, the qualities of a PSV player.”
“He has proven to be a goal scorer in multiple positions, and he works extremely hard for it. It speaks volumes that he accounted for such a large portion of FC Groningen’s goals.”
How much will Pepi cost PSV?
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Pepi’s switch to Philips Sport Vereniging, to give them their full name, has been in the pipeline for some time.
Last month Romano said that PSV will pay Pepi’s parent club Augsburg a fee of €10 million ($11m) and that the striker has agreed to a five-year contract until 2028, as well as personal terms.
Pepi’s move from FC Dallas, for whom he scored 15 times in 55 matches, to Europe wasn’t an immediate success. He failed to find the net in 16 appearances after signing for German side Augsburg in January 2022.
However, he really found his feet in a loan spell in the Netherlands with FC Groningen. Despite the club finishing bottom of the table and being relegated, Pepi scored 12 goals in 29 league games, finishing as the seventh top scorer in the Eredivisie.
Champions League for Pepi?
Dutch soccer clearly agrees with Pepi, with Romano stating that “he only wanted PSV”. The Eindhoven side are the second most successful domestic team in the Netherlands after Ajax, having won 24 league titles. Their last triumph, however, came back 2017/18.
PSV won their one and only European Cup in 1988. This season they will enter the competition in the qualifying stages of the 2023/24 Champions League.
Pepi has scored four times in his last four appearances for the USMNT, including the third goal in the 3-0 Concacaf Nations League rout of Mexico.