West Ham United have made a significant move to acquire U.S. men's national team striker Ricardo Pepi from PSV Eindhoven, with sources confirming to GOAL that the Premier League club has submitted an initial loan-to-buy offer of approximately $26 million. However, the Dutch club has rejected the bid, though the Hammers are expected to return with an improved offer.
The rejection comes as no surprise given PSV Director of Football Earnie Stewart's recent statement to GOAL, where he emphatically declared, "First and foremost, regarding all the transfer issues, I can take those off the table because there's not going to be a transfer. That's one thing that's for sure."
The 22-year-old forward has been drawing attention from multiple clubs throughout the January transfer window, with interest coming from both the Premier League and France's Ligue 1. Pepi's remarkable form has been a key factor in generating such widespread interest, as he continues to impress for both club and country.
His outstanding performances were further highlighted in Wednesday's Champions League victory over Liverpool, where he contributed both a goal and an assist. This latest achievement brings his season tally to 17 goals, with 11 coming in the Eredivisie alone. Despite playing less than 700 minutes in the league, Pepi currently holds second place in the Dutch league's Golden Boot race. According to Opta, he has maintained an impressive record of scoring in each of his eight starts for PSV this season, accumulating 14 goals in those appearances.
In a recent interview with GOAL before the transfer window opened, Pepi shared his perspective on being the subject of transfer speculation: "It's just like such a normal thing now. You know if you're performing or if you're trying to get away for a loan or something like that, they'll be there. I think I've just made it a part of life already." He added, "If my agent doesn't tell me that there's a deal or that there's interest, I don't pay attention to it. I like to just keep things very compact in terms of information, so I can just focus on the main goal, which is performing on the pitch."
PSV's immediate focus now turns to their upcoming fixtures, including a league match against NEC Nijmegen on Saturday and a KNVB Cup quarterfinal against Feyenoord on February 5. The team has also secured their place in the next phase of the Champions League, where they will face either Feyenoord or Juventus in the playoff on February 11 or 12.
