The United States men's national soccer team emerging star Ricardo Pepi was regarded to be on the verge of joining Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Fabrizio Romano, the top widely-regarded Italian journalist, stated last week that the 18-year-old FC Dallas attacker will most likely end up in Germany's top division, but he didn't name a team.
The representative for the player was reportedly in advanced talks with an unidentified Bundesliga team. Pepi has been in contact with a number of European teams, including Premier League side Wolves of the English, and his rumored dream team, La Liga giants Real Madrid, added Romano.
Then it seemed as though Wolfsburg appeared to be the frontrunner in the Pepi race, but no official deal had been reached. The competition to sign the American talent has now been won by another German club.
Pepi-Augsburg: Just another USMNT player to go to the Bundesliga
It is the Bundesliga team, Augsburg who came out on top in the end and will close the transaction for Pepi soon for a total of €18 million, says the latest report by Fabrizio Romano. The Texas-born striker will now travel to Munich, Germany, with his agent Jaime Garcia to undertake medical testing and finalize his move. Interestingly, this move is responsible for breaking two records.
The first is that it is the biggest sum paid for a former MLS academy player, surpassing Bayern's purchase of Alphonso Davies in 2018. It's also the second-largest transfer in the MLS history, after only Miguel Almiron's move to Newcastle.
Pepi being Augsburg's largest ever transfer is the second record. It will nearly quadruple Augsburg's 2016 payment to Salzburg for Martin Hinteregger, which was around €10.5 million. Like Christian Pulisic, Giovanni Reyna, Weston McKennie, and Tyler Adams, Pepi seems to be the latest young American to play in the Bundesliga.
