The collapse of the transfer hinges entirely on PSV’s inability to source a successor. VI reports that while the Eredivisie champions were tempted by the significant profit they would have made on Pepi, they were unwilling to sanction his exit without bringing in a guaranteed scorer to fill the void.
PSV are currently entrenched in a competitive domestic title race and have European commitments to honour. The club’s sporting director, Earnest Stewart, spent the final days of the window scouring the market for a viable replacement who could hit the ground running at the Philips Stadion.
However, with the January market proving notoriously difficult for finding elite strikers, PSV struck out on their primary targets. Faced with the prospect of weakening their squad significantly for the second half of the season, the Dutch club took the pragmatic decision to prioritise sporting stability over financial gain. As a result, they exercised their right to veto the Pepi sale, regardless of the agreement in principle with Fulham.
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