Ricardo Pepi: US star impresses in Groningen but can he finally break through in Augsburg?
Ricardo Pepi has mostly made headlines off the field in recent months. But quietly the US striker is having a good season for Groningen. Is it enough to cut it in Germany?
It is almost a footnote in the winter transfer window thus far. Augsburg forward Florian Niederlechner will leave Augsburg at the end of the season on a free transfer and join a Bundesliga competitor. Augsburg, however, appear to be far from concerned about their top striker leaving the club as they are banking on the fact that Ricardo Pepi will not only make his return from his loan at FC Groningen next summer but also finally look to fulfill his potential.
“I can confirm that Florian will continue his career at Hertha [Berlin] once his contract at Augsburg has expired in the summer,” Niederlechner’s agent Ingo Haspel stated on Tuesday. Hertha have also since confirmed the transfer. “We are happy that we could convince Florian Niederlechner to join Hertha,” Hertha director of sport Fredi Bobic said in a club statement.
Although Niederlechner is second in the club’s scoring chart for this season - his four goals in 14 Bundesliga games is only one goal shy from last season’s total - it is still a big drop from his 13 goals and eight assists in the 2019/20 season. Overall, the sense in the Fuggerstadt has been that at 32, the time is now to move on the striker and make room for younger players.
First and foremost on the mind is American striker Pepi. The 19-year-old was signed for a club record €16.36m from FC Dallas in January 2022 but has been a bust in his first half-season with the club. Pepi did not fit in with then head coach Markus Weinzierl’s system and with the club focused on Bundesliga survival, the American faced an uphill battle.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Gegenpressing Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.