Ruud van Nistelrooy was once revered at Manchester United - but now the Dutch striker may be about to land a young starlet previously pursued by his former club.
The former Premier League winner is currently in charge at PSV Eindhoven, and is on the verge of leading them to a second-place finish in the Eredivisie behind champions Feyenoord. But much of his summer could now be spent battling to secure the signing of United States international Ricardo Pepi.
The 20-year-old forward has been on loan in Holland this season with FC Groningen from German club Augsburg and his form has ignited interest from the country's biggest clubs. Sure enough, it is the top two Eredivisie clubs most heavily linked with a £10million move.
Groningen will be relegated after an awful campaign, but Pepi has been a rare shining light, scoring 12 league goals and contributing three assists. And with a return to Augsburg looking unlikely after falling out with the club following his £16.1million move from FC Dallas in January 2022.
Dutch media outlet Ed.nl reports that it's Van Nistelrooy and PSV in pole position, having already opened talks with the star. And the United icon could do worse than liaise with former team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was in charge at Old Trafford in 2021 when the club themselves were frequently linked with Pepi.
They weren't the only ones, with Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich among those also rumoured to have been tracking the US star. However, in January last year it was Augsburg who pounced, with the fee the second biggest for a player moving from the MLS to Europe.
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However, with Erik ten Hag having replaced the Norwegian and since signing Antony for £80million, speculation over Pepi heading to Old Trafford has inevitably cooled. And that's a notion that will only serve to help Van Nistelrooy as he looks to build on a promising first campaign in charge in Eindhoven.
Having won 14 caps for his country, Pepi was a dubious omission from Gregg Berhalter's World Cup Squad in Qatar, having featured in their qualification campaign. In his first international match following the tournament, Pepi made his point, scoring a brace in a 7–1 Concacaf Nations League victory over Grenada.
Days later he scored the winner against El Salvador to send the US into the semi-finals. And his form with Groningen has helped reestablish his reputation as a rising star after managing just 15 appearances for Augsburg in the Bundesliga.
