Fulham were unsuccessful in their repeated efforts to sign PSV Eindhoven’s Ricardo Pepi in the winter market.
On January 12th, the Dutch club’s general manager, Marcel Brands, confirmed, Fulham’s €25m bid wasn’t sufficient. Towards the end of the window, Marco Silva’s side returned with €35m.
Earlier this week, PSV technical director Earnie Stewart confirmed Fulham’s late approach. He also explained a lack of sufficient time to find a suitable replacement for Pepi saw them reject the London club’s improved proposal.
Despite facing multiple rejections in the recently concluded window, Fulham aren’t giving up on the American. Eindhovens Dagblad, a newspaper local to PSV, covers the latest.
The 23-year-old suffered an injury in January and should return to the pitch in the coming weeks.
He ‘was and is open’ to a move to the Premier League side. Work is ongoing to try and sign him for the summer. According to the report, Fulham are in ongoing discussions with all parties involved.
Silva’s side aren’t discussing the figure for the summer, but such a deal can be beneficial for PSV from a sporting and financial perspective. Pepi will remain at the club until the end of the season.
Fulham move may have hit tax issues
ED state: ‘Furthermore, a transfer could be more tax-efficient for PSV. Noa Lang, Johan Bakayoko, and Malik Tillman generated between €80-90m, and PSV has also played in the Champions League. This means PSV already made a net profit without Pepi’s transfer. From a tax perspective, an additional sale would likely result in an additional expense.’
Fulham are in ongoing negotiations with the Eredivisie side but don’t seem close to finding an agreement. Either way, the English club are still keen and Pepi is open to joining them after this season.
There will be more developments in this case in the coming days and weeks.
Pepi has 11 goals and two assists from 22 matches this season.