Ricardo Pepi chose to leave MLS outfit FC Dallas for Augsburg, despite reported transfer interest from Liverpool, as the Bundesliga side offer young players the chance to grow.
Augsburg finalised a $20m (£15m) deal with Dallas for Pepi on Monday and signed the 18-year-old to a four-and-a-half-year contract. FCA also confirmed his deal includes an option to extend his terms by 12-months after edging ‘interest from a number of top clubs’.
Pepi had informed the Dallas front office on multiple occasions that he wanted to leave in January, per CBS. But Burn held out for a large bid after MLS named the striker their 2021 Young Player of the Year. He scored 13 goals and assisted three over his 31 appearances.
Dallas had only expected to make around $12-15m (£9-11m) when selling Pepi, despite the now-Augsburg forward attracting transfer interest from Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Ajax. He had also agreed to join Wolfsburg in October, per CBS.
Liverpool target Pepi explains decision to join Augsburg
Pepi put a number of European sides on alert to his potential after enjoying a rapid rise in 2021. He had only scored three goals in 28 prior MLS appearances since debuting in 2019. Yet scored one every 157-minutes last year, and made his United States bow in September.
The Texas-native also netted three and assisted three in seven USMNT outings under Gregg Berhalter, starting six. Pepi now hopes to continue his development at Augsburg after the Dallas product snubbed potential transfers to Liverpool and some of Europe’s big names.
“I am very excited to be here, in a great club that gives young people many opportunities for growth,” Pepi said, via quotes by TuttoMercatoWEB. “This is the main reason why I am here and I want to take the opportunity. I am very happy and ready to fight for this team.
“The leap from MLS won’t be easy. It’s a really tough challenge, but I’m ready to face it. To adapt to the Bundesliga, I will have to improve in the speed of the game above all.
“Augsburg has shown that they trust me by investing an important sum for my card and this gives me confidence. I want to show how much I am worth and why the club has signed me, score many goals and help the team in every way.”
Augsburg will hope Pepi helps guide them to Bundesliga safety after beating Liverpool et al to a transfer with Dallas. FCA sit just 15th in the German top-flight – one point above the relegation play-off spot – at the winter break after four wins in 17 games, scoring 17 goals.
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