West Ham United have submitted an official bid to PSV Eindhoven to sign prolific forward Ricardo Pepi, as per Fabrizio Romano.
The United States international has been in excellent goalscoring form for the Eredivisie leaders this season netting 11 goals, the second highest in the Dutch division. In 29 games across all competitions this season, the hitman has recorded 21 goal contributions, and it’s no surprise Graham Potter is now looking to him to help solve their goalscoring problems.
Now, according to football transfer expert Romano, the Hammers have submitted an offer worth €25m (£20m) to the Dutch giants to bring Pepi to East London this winter. The offer is reported to be an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy in the summer.
However, West Ham’s £20m offer has been rejected by PSV, as per Romano—which could mean the Rood-witten are not open to selling their key player unless the Hammers decide to break the bank to secure the 22-year-old’s signature.
West Ham turn to Pepi for goals
West Ham have struggled to find goals this season despite spending significantly to acquire forwards in the summer.
The trio of Niclas Füllkrug, Luis Guilherme, and Crysencio Summerville have accumulated three goals in all competitions this season, while Michail Antonio, who played 14 games before his season-ending accident, netted only one goal.
As of match week 23 of the Premier League, no West Ham player has netted up to six goals, with the entire squad accumulating only 28 goals, the joint second lowest in the league.
West Ham have been linked with a number of centre-forward options to reinforce their attack this winter, with the latest being Eredivisie’s second-highest top scorer, Pepi.
The 22-year-old has reached double figures in goal contributions in all three seasons in the Dutch league, where he first spent time at Groningen on loan before sealing a permanent move to PSV from Augsburg.
His goalscoring prowess would be a big boost to Graham Potter’s side.
With the Dutch club rejecting West Ham’s £20m offer, it remains to be seen if the East London side will return with a significantly higher offer or move on to a more affordable target.
