Manchester United join race to sign teenage sensation Ricardo Pepi from FC Dallas | OneFootball

Manchester United have joined the race for 18-year-old sensation Ricardo Pepi as interest in the youngster is hotting up.

Pepi has enjoyed a breakout campaign in the MLS with FC Dallas, scoring 13 goals and grabbing two assists in 28 league games so far.

He has also made a fast start to his USA national team career, with three goals and two assists in four games, helping them qualify for the World Cup next year.

The striker has already attracted a lot of attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with United joined by Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Ajax in their admiration for him.

Speaking about his young prodigy FC Dallas former coach Luchi Gonzalez had the following to say:

“We saw this kid on this patchy, rough field, not a nice field. But he’s scoring goals.”

“He’s playing up with the 13, 14-year-olds and he is gangly, but he still has coordination. And he always had the ability to get the shots off, and he always found the right space to attack the ball and get a finishing opportunity.

“So, he immediately stood out. And we talked to him, we talked to his family, we talked to the directors there, and we formed a plan for him to join.”

With FC Dallas sitting in 12th in the Western Conference, their chances of making the playoffs are all but over, meaning Pepi would be out of action from November to February.

However, the player sees a January move as the next step in his development and is open to moving to Europe as soon as possible.

With United’s forward options already overinflated, it would be hard to see the teenager getting regular football at Old Trafford any time soon.

Perhaps making a move to United is therefore unlikely due to his need for gametime before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar next winter.