PSV Eindhoven’s Ricardo Pepi is keen on securing a move to Premier League side Fulham in the summer.
That’s according to Eindhovens Dagblad, who cover the latest on Fulham’s ongoing efforts to sign the striker.
Marco Silva’s side have long been chasing the 23-year-old. They tried signing him last summer and even in the winter market, but PSV turned down their approaches.
Back in January, PSV general manager Marcel Brands said the London club offered €25m for the American.
Last month, PSV technical director Earnie Stewart said Fulham returned with an improved bid towards the end of the winter market. However, the Dutch club rejected it due to lack of sufficient time to find an adequate replacement.
Fulham not giving up on Pepi
The English club have no plans to end their pursuit of Pepi and will make a new attempt to sign him in the summer.
On February 13th, Sport Witness relayed news of Fulham making it clear they’re willing to go big.
ED now pick up on that and cover the latest. According to the newspaper, Pepi is ‘eager to join Fulham and the move is likely to happen’, meaning the transfer would go through this time.
The Premier League side have been close to concluding an agreement with PSV for several weeks. However, the two clubs are yet to find the final amount for the player’s transfer.
Pepi hasn’t completed his medical tests with Fulham, and until then, ED warn the ‘risk lies with PSV’. In other words, the Dutch club could risk missing out on a fee close to €40m if the American suffers a serious setback, which could prevent him from changing clubs.
Our take: Fulham acting quickly makes sense
Marco Silva now has Raúl Jiménez, Rodrigo Muniz and 18-year-old Jonah Kusi-Asare as the three strikers at his disposal.
Kusi-Asare and Muniz have played 103 and 666 minutes respectively this season. The Brazilian has struggled with injuries, restricting his minutes and impacting his form.
Jiménez, who will turn 35 years of age in May, is leading Fulham’s attack but his contract expires in June.
Therefore, it makes sense for Fulham to continue working on the Pepi operation before the transfer window reopens.
The PSV player is represented by SXI agents, and is by far their most valuable client.