Ricardo Pepi’s Failed Premier League Move Could Be Blessing in Disguise for USMNT

Fulham were prepared to spend upwards of $38 million to add Ricardo Pepi this season.

Ricardo Pepi could move to the Premier League after the 2026 World Cup. | Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images

If Fulham eventually have their way, Ricardo Pepi will play in the Premier League in 2026-27. 

For now, though, the American striker is staying with PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie, and that’s a good thing for the U.S. men’s national team as he battles for a World Cup roster spot at this summer’s 48-team tournament. 

While it means PSV won’t pocket the $43.7 million transfer offer just yet, and that Pepi won’t be able to unite with USMNT teammate Antonee Robinson to play in the world’s most-watched league just yet, it also means that he will remain at a place with a clear route to success. 

There are risks with any transfer in a player’s career, but a shift in a World Cup season can be career-defining, regardless of how it goes. 

“For me, it’s important that the player feels happy, feels comfortable,” USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino said when asked about his players moving in the transfer window, notably Alex Freeman’s switch from Orlando City to Villarreal. 

“But we don’t want it to be in a comfortable zone. I think it’s an amazing challenge that we need to support and help them adapt in the best possible way, and not to lose focus on the performance, if they happen to move to different clubs. There is a focus on the World Cup.”

Learning from 2022

PSV are willing to sell Pepi when the next window comes around. | Kevin Senders/Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi/Getty Images

For Pepi, moving in a World Cup year is an experience he’s well acquainted with. In 2022, after leaving his boyhood MLS club, FC Dallas, Pepi moved to Augsburg in the Bundesliga, where he struggled for playing time and goals. 

By the time USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter unveiled the World Cup squad, Pepi had been left on the sidelines. 

After less than a year with Augsburg, in which he scored no goals in 16 appearances, he moved to Groningen on loan and eventually earned a permanent move to PSV, where he has developed into one of the top strikers in the Netherlands. Despite battling injuries this season, he has eight goals in 15 games, after scoring 11 in 18 in the club’s league title-winning campaign of 2024-25.  

That goalscoring record should be enough to find success in the Premier League at some point, but for now, he can focus on building his form ahead of the World Cup.

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USMNT Striker Competition

Ricardo Pepi will have to wait to leave PSV Eindhoven. | John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

With the 2026 tournament looming, the race to be among the USMNT strikers is heating up. AS Monaco’s Folarin Balogun likely still leads among those in contention to start with his four goals in 12 Ligue 1 games this season, but it’s a battle behind him. 

Given his goalscoring rate, Pepi is in a good spot. Yet, knee injuries and a broken arm have limited his minutes, allowing others, such as Derby County’s Patrick Agyemang, Coventry City’s Haji Wright and potentially MLS-bound Josh Sargent, all in contention. 

Pepi didn’t get his first cap under Pochettino until November in a friendly win against Paraguay. As such, it’s clear he’s not a lock for the roster, despite his goalscoring rate. The stability he enjoys at PSV should help him make his case.

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