West Ham ‘on verge’ of beating Chelsea in transfer race with £37m bid ‘expected to be accepted’
Ajax are ‘expected to accept’ a second bid from West Ham United for Chelsea-linked attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus, according to a report.
Kudus has been linked with a host of clubs this summer, including West Ham, Brighton, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Arsenal.
The Seagulls had a bid in the region of £34million accepted by Ajax earlier this summer but a move failed to materialise.
This allowed the Hammers to swoop in and have a free run at the player after Chelsea cooled their interest to focus on other targets.
Even with David Moyes’ side comfortably in the driving seat, it would not be surprising to see the Blues swoop in at the last minute to hijack the deal.
West Ham reportedly had a £34.2million offer rejected by Ajax last week, even though Brighton had the same offer accepted earlier in the window.
Ajax’s reasoning was that the latter bid came closer to the transfer deadline, thus giving them less chance to sort out a replacement.
And it looks like they have managed to get an extra few million from West Ham, who are clearly very eager to sign the Ghanaian international.
According to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, West Ham are now ‘on the verge’ of striking an agreement with the Eredivisie giants.
Ornstein says the Londoners have offered €41m plus €3m in add-ons (£35m + £2.56m) plus a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
This bid is ‘expected to be accepted’ by Ajax, who will continue their impressive record of bringing in players at a young age, developing them into top talents, and making a very tidy profit.
The report says Kudus already has an agreement on personal terms and will pen a five-year contract with the option for a sixth.
It is added that Chelsea have been interested this summer and that Brighton agreed a fee with Ajax this month.
West Ham were the last Premier League club to make a signing in the summer transfer window and have now brought in midfielders Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse, who provided two assists on his debut against Chelsea.
Kudus usually operates as an attacking midfielder but can also play on either wing or as a No. 9.
Even though he can be a striker option, West Ham could do with signing another player in that position having let Gianluca Scamacca join Atalanta.
They were very keen on Elye Wahi – as were Chelsea – but the young Frenchman has left Montpellier to play for RC Lens in the Champions League.
The Irons have surprisingly been linked with Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku, who is running out of European options with the transfer deadline edging closer.
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