Ricardo Pepi celebrates a goal with his USMNT teammates. (USA TODAY Sports)

Well, that was fast.

On Monday, Augsburg announced that Ricardo Pepi had signed with the Bundesliga team.

On Saturday, the 18-year-old forward made his debut for the German club in its 3-1 loss at Hoffenheim.

The U.S. men’s international replaced Andi Zeqiri on the hour.

USMNT defender Chris Richards, who also came through FC Dallas, played the entire way for the winners.

Pepi signed a five-year contract that runs through June 30, 2026 with an option to extend it for another year. The transfer fee reportedly is more than two times the previous Augsburg acquisition. The move also was the largest player transfer fee in FC Dallas history.

Augsburg’s next game is set for Sunday, Jan. 16, when it hosts Eintracht Frankfurt.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.