Dutch Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven announced on Saturday that the summer transfer for Ricardo Pepi to Fulham is now on hold due to a failure to agree on a detail in the deal.
It was reported days ago that the two teams agreed on a $40-plus million dollar deal for the striker to head to London, with him heading to undergo a medical. However, according PSV’s sporting director, Earnest Stewart, in a report from ESPN, both sides could not agree on whether the transfer should be completed now or after the World Cup.
“In the end, no agreement was reached on the moment when responsibility for the player would be transferred,” he said. “We were already in talks with Fulham during the winter break, when they made their move just before the transfer window closed. At that point, we couldn’t bring in a replacement anymore, so the transfer couldn’t go through. But a week later, we resumed discussions and the process got underway again.
“That issue of responsibility for the player was a very important detail throughout. We did get a bit closer on it, but in the end, we were still too far apart.”
Stewart went on to say that Pepi was intent on making the move to the English Premier League side, but PSV was “happy to keep a good striker at the club.”
The former U.S. international did not rule out the chances of both teams reaching an agreement to complete the transfer.
The 23-year-old made his return to the league leaders after suffering a broken arm in January after their 5-1 win over Excelsior. Since then, he has scored two goals in four games.
PSV will next face Telstar in league action on Sunday.
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