PSV Eindhoven’s technical director Earnest Stewart says Ricardo Pepi held ‘no grudges’ against the club after his January move to Fulham collapsed.
The Premier League side made two bids to sign the striker in the winter market, but PSV turned them down.
Fulham didn’t give up and continued to chase Pepi in their efforts to improve Marco Silva’s attacking options next season.
The American scored 13 goals and contributed two assists from 28 matches this season, and below are his stats per game in the Eredivisie.
The London club have made concrete advances in their efforts to bring him to the Premier League.
Last Tuesday, Sport Witness relayed news from the Netherlands that Fulham and PSV reached an agreement in principle for €40m with bonuses included. A day later, he made a trip to the UK to undergo medical tests with the English club.
PSV manager Peter Bosz confirmed the 23-year-old returned to the club on Friday, after completing medical tests with Silva’s side.
Pepi’s transfer to Fulham off
At the weekend, a new development took place, and the frontman’s move to London is now off. ESPN NL caught up with Stewart, who explains why the deal broke down.
Fulham want to terminate the operation if he suffers an injury before the end of this season. However, the Eredivisie side aren’t in favour of this, and the clubs couldn’t come to an agreement.
“Ultimately, no agreement was reached regarding the moment at which responsibility for the player would be transferred,” he said.
“We were, of course, already in talks with Fulham during the winter break, when they came just before the transfer window closed. We couldn’t bring in a replacement anymore, so at that moment the transfer couldn’t go through. But a week later we got back in talks and the process got underway.
“That responsibility for the player was a very important detail that always played a role. And while we did get a bit closer to each other in that regard, ultimately we remained too far apart.”
Pepi keen on PL transfer
The Dutch club’s official suggests the player can’t pin the blame on them and still refuses to rule out a summer move to Fulham.
“Ricardo really wanted this. It is an unpleasant situation, especially for Ricardo. Of course, we are happy that we are retaining a good striker. He holds no grudges towards PSV…” Stewart explained.
“You should never do that [rule out a move to Fulham]. If a player makes a good move for the club, we will go for it.
Fulham risk missing out on American
The latest decision from Marco Silva’s side may not please Ricardo Pepi, who showed serious interest in the operation.
This could allow other clubs to now enter the battle to try and convince him to change his mind to join them.
Should Fulham return after the World Cup, there’s a risk of Pepi’s price rising further in the summer. In short, the English club now faces the risk of completely losing him.
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