Chelsea ‘ridiculous’ offer spoiled Poch’s chances of signing £38m Prem star despite deal ‘agreement’
According to the player’s agent, Chelsea had an “agreement” in place with Ajax to sign Mohammed Kudus before the attacker signed for West Ham United.
The 23-year-old grabbed 18 goals and seven assists for Ajax last term and he also impressed for Ghana at the World Cup.
Kudus was heavily linked with Manchester United last season after the Premier League giants appointed ex-Ajax boss Erik ten Hag but he was on the radar of Arsenal and Chelsea this summer.
Despite this, West Ham ended up pulling off a major coup and signed Kudus in a deal worth around £38m. He is being eased into the fold by David Moyes but he made a huge impact off the bench as they drew 2-2 against Newcastle before the international break.
The early signs are promising so Kudus is expected to enjoy a strong debut season in the Premier League.
His agent – Jennifer Mendelewitsch – has now explained why Kudus did not end up signing for Chelsea, who had an “agreement” with Dutch giants Ajax.
Mendelewitsch has revealed that Chelsea – who top the 2023 net spend table – low-balled Ajax with a “ridiculous offer” while they were focusing on Moises Caicedo.
“He [Kudus] wanted to leave, there weren’t 50,000 clubs who needed a midfielder and could afford him,” Mendelewitsch told RMC Sport.
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“Obviously, we offered him his profile at PSG. Now, it’s the club’s choice not to not move forward. All clubs have the right to decide that they go to another profile or that it is not their priority.
“We reached an agreement with Chelsea, we agreed contractually with Chelsea but the deal did not happen. He spoke with the coach [Pochettino] but in the end, it didn’t happen. It didn’t happen because Chelsea made a ridiculous offer to Ajax.
“There was no counter-offer that followed. Actually, Chelsea did this to a lot of players this summer with very low offers to clubs knowing they wouldn’t be accepted.
“The truth is that they were completely taken by the transfer of Caicedo which used all their energy.
“Then at a contractual level, it was a big contract but there is the other side of the coin which is these are such long contracts because of Financial Fair Play.
“But that’s not the choice the player made. I think that in any case, from a sporting point of view, it would’ve been complicated for him. The circumstances weren’t all right but when a club like Chelsea comes it’s hard to refuse.”
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