Bundesliga News

Report:
Wolfsburg close in on American talent Pepi

By Peter Weis   @PeterVicey

Transfermarkt's US site and CBS Sports now both report that VfL Wolfsburg's signing of FC Dallas and USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi is almost in the bag. 

Apparently, Lukas Nmecha's long-term injury ensured that Germany's green company team allocated its entire January transfer budget to complete the deal.
Ricardo Pepi.
Ricardo Pepi.Photo: Matt Paletto, CC BY-SA 4.0
Since reports emerged in mid-October that VfL Wolfsburg and 18-year-old striker Ricardo Pepi had agreed to personal terms, the trail on this potential transfer went cold. Approximately one week later, the MLS club set a price tag of around €10-13 million on the young attacker. Pepi himself will have wanted to consider interest from the likes of Borussia Dortmund, and Ajax Amsterdam.


CBS Sports and Transfermarkt.us currently report that the Lukas Nmecha's ankle fracture has led to Jörg Schmadtke, Marcel Schäfer, and the rest of the WOB administrative team straining to complete a deal using the entire €10-€13 transfer budget they have on hand for the January window. The Autostädter ran up an estimated €50 million transfer deficit during the summer window.

Germany's green company team can reportedly hope to outmaneuver larger rivals by promising the American teen phenom playing time. Writing for CBS sports, Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claims that Pepi is "increasingly tempted to head to the Bundesliga" and that "negotiations are underway."

Pepi burst onto the scene for both club and country in 2021. He's scored 13 goals for his MLS club and a further three in seven caps for Gregg Berhalter's USMNT.



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