Tuesday, October 19, 2021 at 06:57• Chris Meijer

The battle for Ricardo Pepi has completely erupted, with Ajax as one of the many candidates. CBS Sports reports that the eighteen-year-old striker has submitted a transfer request to his club FC Dallas and has already reached a personal agreement with VfL Wolfsburg. That does not necessarily mean that Pepi will make the switch to the German club of trainer Mark van Bommel, because there are still strong negotiations with FC Dallas.

Pepi’s name has long been associated with Ajax. The striker – a two-time American international, with Mexican roots – has almost completed his first full season with the main force of FC Dallas. Pepi has now played 55 matches in Major League Soccer for the club where he went through the youth academy and signed a contract there until mid-2026 in June 2019. That long-term commitment seems to be getting in his way somewhat now.

Last week there were already sounds from the United States that there was a personal agreement between Pepi and VfL Wolfsburg. CBS Sports emphasizes, however, that a transfer is certainly not a foregone conclusion. FC Dallas would like to keep Pepi at least until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, because this tournament could significantly increase his market value. An offer of thirteen million euros would force the American club to sell him already.

That has not yet happened: Sampdoria reported an amount of seven million euros in Dallas, but saw that offer quickly sent to the trash. However, Pepi’s transfer request could change the situation. It forces FC Dallas to act. It seems certain that in any case a larger amount will be on the table than Sampdoria was willing to pay, because there is a lot of interest in the young striker.

Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are currently also mentioned as concrete candidates in the battle for Pepi. Bayern has a partnership with FC Dallas and Pepi has been training in Munich for a while in 2019 as part of this. Previously, the interest of unnamed clubs from England, Germany and Italy had already been hedged. Pepi has so far scored 13 goals and 2 assists in 27 games this MLS season.