Pepi, McKennie among Americans linked to late transfer-window moves, GOAL says

GOAL’s writers, in a transfer-window edition of The Rondo, assessed the final few days of the January window that unusually ends in February and flagged U.S. internationals Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie as players linked to possible moves, alongside talk of Raheem Sterling and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

They note there have been no blockbuster moves so far, with only Manchester City spending big, but Tom Hindle and Ryan Tolmich highlighted several names still in play — Mateta has been linked with Milan after a proposed move from Nottingham Forest fell through, and Josh Sargent to Toronto keeps surfacing amid criticism of the player’s strike.

On Weston McKennie, Hindle argued he should stay at Juventus for now while acknowledging a summer move could suit, and Tolmich said McKennie “holds all the cards,” could move for free in the summer and has proven he can contribute at Champions League level. Both writers urged caution on Ricardo Pepi leaving PSV in January.

Hindle pointed out Pepi is injured and scoring when fit, so should stay, while Tolmich said Pepi likely won’t be healthy until March, making a mid-window transfer impractical for his World Cup preparation. When asked about the most and least impactful deadline-day signings, both writers picked Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool as the best.

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