Leeds United appear to have renewed their interest in the Fulham striker.
Fulham are apparently considering a deal for PSV Eindhoven forward Ricardo Pepi, as Leeds United’s interest in their own attacker, Rodrigo Muniz, grows.
Leeds have long been connected with Muniz, and according to recent sources, they made an official offer to him early this summer. According to The Athletic, Fulham rejected a bid worth £32 million in total, but it is unclear whether Elland Road officials would return with a higher offer.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Evening Standard echoed those reports, adding that Muniz is regarded as one of Fulham’s most important assets and is not currently for sale. There is, however, an acknowledgment that they may receive an offer simply too excellent to resist down, as happened when they sold Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich for more than £45 million last summer.
It remains to be seen whether such an offer will come from Elland Road, but according to Fabrizio Romano, Fulham has their own striker shortlist, which includes PSV’s Pepi. The 22-year-old American international has sparked plenty of attention after scoring 11 goals in 18 Eredivisie games for the eventual Dutch winners.
According to Romano, Fulham is considering making an approach for the striker, who is on their shortlist. Although there will be plenty of competition for the Texas-born forward, unnamed clubs from Italy and Spain are anticipated to enter the race.
How could this effect Leeds United’s pursuit of Rodrigo Muniz?
It’s unknown what a transfer for Pepi would mean for Muniz’s Fulham future, but it would give manager Marco Silva three real first-team No.9s to deal with. The Cottagers confirmed earlier this month that Carlos Vinicius would leave at the conclusion of his contract this summer, but Raul Jimenez, last season’s 12-goal top scorer, has had a one-year extension option exercised.
Jimenez started 30 of Fulham’s 38 Premier League games last season, with Muniz replacing him for the remaining eight; he nevertheless scored eight goals at a rate of one per 121 minutes. However, a player of Pepi’s caliber would demand a more key role than his prospective predecessor Vinicius, who had three league appearances from the bench, totaling only 16 minutes.
Even if Fulham intend to keep Muniz, the prospect of progressively reduced minutes may motivate the 24-year-old to seek first-team opportunities elsewhere. A deal that expires in 2026 would have aided Leeds’ negotiation position, but, like Jimenez, the club has the option to extend it for another year.
The only other striker with whom Leeds has been seriously linked is Beto, who emerged as a potential target via Sky Sports earlier this summer – albeit a move that appears to be tricky given that he is Everton’s sole senior striker contracted beyond this month. Despite reports of interest in Lecce’s Nikola Krstović, the YEP knows he is not currently on Elland Road’s target list.
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