Augsburg head coach Enrico Maassen said the club’s decision to send Ricardo Pepi on loan to Groningen has worked out perfectly.
Pepi became Augsburg’s club-record signing when he joined in January 2022 for a fee of $20 million, but he failed to score a goal across 15 Bundesliga appearances for the club.
Just a few games into the 2022-23 campaign, Augsburg sent Pepi on a season-long loan to the Eredivisie. The American striker has responded with a standout season for relegation-battling Groningen, scoring 10 league goals in 22 games.
Pepi has been tipped to leave Augsburg on a permanent basis this summer, but while praising the move to send the USMNT forward on loan, Maassen also indicated he was looking forward to having him back at the club.
“The calculation worked out perfectly,” Maassen said. “That was the idea of giving him more playing time in a league that is perhaps not as physically demanding as the Bundesliga, but it still technically good.”
Maassen added: “We are very pleased that his development is going so positively, that he scores a lot of goals and is also in the national team. We look forward to him coming back soon.”
Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter echoed Maassen’s comments last week, telling Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung: “We are planning firmly with [Pepi] and have no intention of giving him away. Enrico Maassen rates him very highly.”
Pepi starred for the USMNT in the recent international window, scoring three goals over two wins against Grenada and El Salvador.
[lawrence-related id=16904,16580,16673]