Ricardo Pepi has expressed his desire to not return to German Bundesliga side FC Augsburg, but according to the team’s managing director of sport Stefan Reuter, no decision has been made on the future of the forward.
The Texan, who has been on a season-long loan with FC Groningen in the Dutch Eredivisie, expressed firmly along with his agent in an interview with Dutch magazine Voetbal International that he has no intentions of returning to the Bavarian team in the summer. Accusations from both claim that “promises were not fulfilled” by his parent club.
However, when speaking with Sky Sports Germany (via BuliNews), Reuter said a final decision has not been made on the future of the young star.
“Ricardo has a long-term contract with us,” he said “With his qualities, he fits in very well with our style of play. The coach also thinks highly of him. Of course I understand what his agent has said, but the facts are clear and there have been no inquiries, let alone offers, for him so far. So a sale is not an issue for us at the moment.”
“As always, we would consider concrete and adequate offers. But we will discuss that directly with him and the agent, not through the public.”
Pepi was signed by Augsburg in January 2022 in a reported 20-million dollar deal with Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas. However, he would struggle in Germany as he played a total of 15 games for the team without scoring a goal.
The 20-year-old was then sent out on loan to Groningen during last year’s summer transfer window. Since the move over to the Netherlands he has not only regained his confidence but also his goal scoring touch he has bagged 10 in 23 games despite the team being in a relegation battle.
Pepi’s potential has not gone unnoticed by the big teams in the division, with PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord reportedly showing interest in signing the player.
