Fulham are closing in on a major summer signing.placeholder image
Fulham are closing in on a major summer signing. | Getty Images
Fulham’s next signing could be a huge one for the Cottagers next season
Fulham have established themselves in the Premier League in recent seasons but as another campaign appears destined for a mid-table finish, the Cottagers are already looking ahead to the summer as they aim to take a step to the next level.
Now in their fourth season back in the top flight and already having reached the 40-point mark, an uncertain summer awaits as both manager Marco Silva and top scorer Harry Wilson may depart when their contracts expire at the end of the season. Making early transfer moves, therefore, could be key in convincing the pair to stick around.
The Cottagers broke their transfer record last summer when they signed winger Kevin for £34.6million from Shakhtar Donetsk. While that record appears set to remain intact, another big-money move for Ricardo Pepi, who they failed to bring in during the January window, looks set to go ahead this summer.
Fulham’s Ricardo Pepi move could be a game-changer
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reports on X that Fulham have agreed a €36m (£31m) fee with PSV Eindhoven to sign striker Pepi this summer, with personal terms also agreed and the player set to undergo a medical in the coming days ahead of officially arriving at Craven Cottage next season.
The 23-year-old has scored 13 goals in 27 appearances this term, including three in the Champions League, and has 34 caps for the USA national side. While a £28m bid by Fulham on deadline day fell through, they now look set to get their man less than two months later – and he could be just the signing which the club needs.
The striker position has been one of concern for Fulham ever since the departure of prolific Aleksandr Mitrovic in 2023, and while Raul Jimenez has done a stellar job with 30 goals in 108 appearances for the club, the veteran striker sees his contract run out this summer and so now is the perfect time to sign his long-term successor.
Could Pepi signing solve Fulham’s striker problem next term?
Fulham have built a side of seasoned Premier League stars over recent seasons and a prolific goalscorer is truly what they are missing to take the club to the next level. While players such as Wilson and Jimenez have had strong seasons, the pair have just 19 goals between them – and might not even be at the club next season as it stands.
This campaign has suggested that Rodrigo Muniz might not be the long-term answer, either, as injury and form issues have limited the 24-year-old to just one solitary goal in 694 minutes of football.
Coul Pepi, thus far untested in the Premier League, come in and make an instant impact? It will be a challenge, but the Cottagers will be hoping he can make the step up. This transfer move is certainly an early statement of intent by the west London side, turning a failed January pursuit into an exciting new arrival for next term.
Whether the signing of Pepi will be enough to convince the likes of Silva, Wilson and Jimenez to stick around at the club, remains to be seen. But this is the type of early transfer business which the Cottagers boss has cried out for in previous windows.
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