Tag: Ricardo Pepi

USMNT striker Pepi completes transfer to PSV

The 20-year-old is staying in the Netherlands after a successful loan at Groningen last season

Ricardo Pepi is making his stay in the Netherlands permanent.

After impressing on loan with Groningen last season, the U.S. national team striker has completed a transfer to PSV from German outfit Augsburg.

Pepi will wear the No. 14 at PSV and has signed a five-year contract. ESPN reported last month that the Dutch club will pay $9.8 million for the striker.

“I am incredibly happy and excited to be here,” Pepi told PSV’s website. “I believe this is the right step for my career. PSV is a club with great ambitions, and I share the same desire to win trophies. I am a hardworking player who is willing to put in the dirty work. I prefer to have the ball close to the goal because that’s when I can score goals.”

Pepi’s time at Augsburg was ill-fated from the moment the Bundesliga side paid a club-record fee of $20 million in January 2022 to sign the striker from FC Dallas.

After failing to score in his first half season with Augsburg, Pepi started the 2022-23 season off slowly as well before joining Groningen on loan for the rest of the campaign.

With Groningen, Pepi found his scoring touch once again, netting 12 times in the Eredivisie despite the club’s relegation.

“Ricardo possesses the qualities we look for in an attacker, the qualities of a PSV player,” said the club’s director of football Earnie Stewart, who recently left his position as U.S. Soccer sporting director to take the job with the Dutch power.

“He has proven to be a goalscorer 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.”

Pepi just missed out on the USMNT’s World Cup squad, but has come back into the fold with a bang after the tournament in Qatar.

The 20-year-old has scored four goals in four appearances with the USMNT in 2023, including a goal against Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal last month.

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The Americans Abroad Five season review: The best and worst of 2022-23

Some teams were fun, some very much weren’t. Some players broke out, while others broke down

With the European club season in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take stock of the year that was for Americans Abroad.

In many ways, 2022-23 felt like a preamble, a precursor to a much more significant club season to come. For the future of the U.S. men’s national team, what comes next will be more significant than what came before.

That’s because so many vital USMNT players are unsettled due to the nature of their 2022-23 campaign — some are ready to move up the food chain due to standout seasons, while others need a change of scenery for less positive reasons.

Before we turn the page to next season, let’s take a look back by handing out a few accolades for some notable Americans Abroad.

Callaghan eyes Balogun-Pepi battle for USMNT striker role

Despite huge expectations, nothing will be handed to the newest member of the USMNT

New U.S. men’s national team head coach B.J. Callaghan has said he’s looking forward to watching Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi compete for the No. 9 role in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Balogun and Pepi were the only true strikers named to the 24-man initial roster on Thursday, with the U.S. set for a semifinal against Mexico on June 15 and a potential final three days later against either Canada or Panama.

It was the first USMNT call-up for Balogun, who officially committed to the U.S. in mid-May. Pepi, meanwhile, overcame a World Cup roster snub and tough start to his Augsburg career to have a strong campaign on loan at Groningen. The 20-year-old scored three goals in two games in his USMNT return in March.

Callaghan, who took over as interim coach from Anthony Hudson earlier this week, said that Balogun will have nothing handed to him with the USMNT despite a 20-goal season with Reims in Ligue 1.

“His expectations of himself are as high or higher than the public, but he still has to come in and compete,” Callaghan told the media on a conference call.

“Ricardo Pepi is a guy who’s coming off a great season and has scored big goals for us already. It’s going to be fun to watch these guys compete. As professional athletes and guys that want to make an impression on the U.S. men’s national team, that’s what you want. You want competition, and I expect this to be a great camp for both of them.”

(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Ahead of Balogun’s first camp, Callaghan said that he challenged the 21-year-old forward to integrate himself into the group as quickly as possible.

“He’s excited to come in with the group. He’s someone that I spoke to about embracing the brotherhood that we have,” Callaghan said. “It’s a welcoming environment, the guys are going to welcome him in. They’re all excited and he’s excited.

“But at the same time, I challenged him. I said, ‘Listen, you have to put yourself out there, and you have to integrate with the group. We’re going to work as hard as we can to integrate you and at the same time, it’s your responsibility on the field and off the field to to become part of this group as quick as we can.’

“We have a lot of case studies of guys that have come in and been super successful, and I expect nothing different with Flo.”

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The Americans Abroad Five: So, who’s getting relegated?

Several USMNT players are battling to avoid the drop as the season winds down

Last season’s crop of top-flight Americans Abroad saw their ranks thinned significantly after a number of relegations.

Some moved on to bigger and better things (Luca de la Torre), some dropped down a division and thrived (Tanner Tessmann and Josh Sargent), while some saw their personal stock sink along with their team (George Bello and Gianluca Busio).

This season appears to be mercifully lighter when it comes to Americans facing the drop in major European leagues, but there are still some notable names who could be sent packing to the second tier in the coming weeks.

This weekend saw some significant movement, both good and bad, for the relegation-threatened Americans Abroad. Let’s start the Five with a look at a vital weekend in the race to avoid the drop.

The Americans Abroad Five: Paxten Aaronson is ahead of schedule

The 19-year-old got rave reviews after his first extended Bundesliga minutes

When Paxten Aaronson signed with Eintracht Frankfurt, the club made it clear they weren’t expecting much from the teenager this season.

“We’ve got a very clear plan for how we want to gradually and carefully build him up,” said Timmo Hardung, head of first team football at Eintracht. “And part of that is he’s coming to us in January to start getting used to everything here so that ideally he’s ready to hit the ground running in the new season.”

Things had pretty much been going according to that plan in Aaronson’s debut half season, as he made just two brief cameos before this weekend’s game against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

But with Eintracht down a goal in the second half, head coach Oliver Glasner opted to hand the 19-year-old his first extended opportunity as he replaced Rafael Borré on 55 minutes.

The returns, early as they may be, were promising.

The younger Aaronson’s first real taste of Bundesliga minutes leads off this week’s Five.

Ricardo Pepi scores again, Groningen loses again

Imagine Groningen without Pepi

The contrast between Ricardo Pepi and Groningen in the Eredivisie couldn’t be more stark.

Pepi scored his seventh goal in his last 10 matches between club play and the U.S. men’s national team. The goal is his 11th in the league this season, and when you add in his three assists, he’s made a direct contribution to 50% of Groningen’s 28 goals.

It’s just that Groningen is in freefall as a club, squandering Pepi’s goal as Michiel Kramer’s 86th minute penalty gave RKC Waalwijk a 2-1 win on Saturday.

The defeat marked Groningen’s sixth straight Eredivisie loss, and the club is on a horrid 1W-3D-14L run. With just five games left to play and eight points between them and a promotion-relegation playoff spot, relegation seems certain.

Pepi, who is on a season-long loan, has been doing whatever he can to stave off the inevitable. His productivity on an otherwise doomed team, combined with his eagerness to avoid returning to Augsburg, should make him a hot commodity in this summer’s transfer market.

On Saturday, Pepi maintained his good form with another goal. After initially keeping a play alive by ensuring the ball didn’t run out of play, Pepi passed backwards as Groningen — who had fallen behind just seconds earlier — tried to find an opening in the massed RKC defense.

With the home side standing off, Groningen had time to get men forward, and left back Nordin Musampa pushed up into a more dangerous spot. With time and space, he curled a pinpoint cross in for Pepi, who had ghosted away from his markers to get wide open at the back post.

Watch Pepi strike again

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Augsburg willing to listen to offers for USMNT forward Pepi

Pepi has made clear that he wants to leave the German club as soon as possible

Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter has said the club is willing to consider “concrete and adequate offers” for unsettled forward Ricardo Pepi.

Pepi and his agent Jaime Garcia recently gave an explosive interview to Voetbal International, airing their grievances with Augsburg and underlining their desire to leave the Bundesliga club.

Augsburg signed the U.S. national team striker for a club-record fee of $20 million in January 2022, but Pepi struggled to find his feet in a half season with the club.

Garcia slammed Augsburg for its treatment of Pepi before it sent the forward on loan to FC Groningen in the Netherlands early this season.

“We appreciate the investment the club has made, but once he came in, it seemed they didn’t know how to handle such an investment,” Pepi’s agent said.

“The manager didn’t speak to him, the director wanted him so badly that he twice did not show up for an appointment with Ricardo that he had scheduled himself. The coach talks about him at a press conference, but does not respond to a message Ricardo sent him for four days. Is that respectful?”

Augsburg responds

Though Pepi has a contract with Augsburg through 2026, Reuter said the club is willing to grant his wish — but only if the right offer arrives.

“Ricardo has a long-term contract with us. With his qualities, he fits in very well with our style of play. The coach also thinks highly of him. Of course I understand what his agent has said,” Reuter told Sky Germany.

“But the facts are clear and there have been no inquiries, let alone offers, for him so far. So a sale is not an issue for us at the moment.

“As always, we would consider concrete and adequate offers. But we will discuss that directly with him and the agent, not through the public.”

Pepi, who has 10 Eredivisie goals this season, has been linked with a move to Dutch powers PSV and Feyenoord, as well as to the Premier League.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Ricardo Pepi is playing hardball

The USMNT striker is taking a risk as he aims to escape Augsburg

Ricardo Pepi could have kept his grievances behind closed doors. He could’ve quietly asked Augsburg to let him leave and hoped his wish would be granted.

But Pepi, and his agent Jaime Garcia, have decided that quiet isn’t the way they want to do this.

In an explosive interview with Voetbal International, Garcia and Pepi put all their cards on the table. They don’t just want to leave Augsburg, they want the world to know just how awful the club’s been to them.

As much as they’d like it to be, leaving Augsburg isn’t all up to Garcia and Pepi. It was only 16 months ago that Augsburg invested a club-record $20 million into Pepi, and signed him to a contract through 2026.

They have an asset on their hands, albeit a disgruntled one, and are under no real pressure to let him go unless a suitable offer arrives.

But will such an offer come? Pepi’s big gamble leads off this week’s edition of the Americans Abroad Five.

Ricardo Pepi: I don’t want to go back to Augsburg

The USMNT striker is ready to play hardball with his parent club

Ricardo Pepi appears ready to play hardball.

The striker has told his parent club Augsburg that he wants out, despite the fact he has a contract with the Bundesliga side through 2026.

Pepi has put together a standout individual campaign on loan with FC Groningen, scoring 10 league goals for a club that is in serious danger of being relegated from the Eredivisie.

That output stands in stark contrast to his production at Augsburg, which shelled out a club-record fee of $20 million in January 2022 to sign the U.S. international from FC Dallas.

Pepi struggled to adapt after making the move from MLS, and is still looking for his first Augsburg goal after 15 Bundesliga appearances.

With transfer interest growing, Pepi told VI that he is already looking for a new challenge less than 18 months after joining Augsburg.

“For me it is clear: I do not want to go back to Augsburg,” Pepi said. “I have already let the club know that. I have been promised things that have not been fulfilled. Then it is simple: You have to look for another club.”

Pepi’s comments came just one day after Augsburg manager Enrico Maassen said he was pleased with how the 20-year-old’s loan was going, adding that he’s looking forward to having Pepi back next season.

Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter was even more explicit in an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung last week, saying: “We are planning firmly with [Pepi] and have no intention of giving him away. Enrico Maassen rates him very highly.”

Pepi has been recently been linked with a move to Dutch powers Feyenoord and PSV, along with other clubs in Europe.

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Augsburg coach: Pepi’s loan has worked out perfectly

Pepi has 10 league goals with Groningen this season

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.

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