Click here for more of our videos
on ShotsTV.com or watch on Freeview 262
Tottenham are preparing a £50 million bid for a West Ham winger - but Arsenal may have a way to get in ahead of their rivals.
Sign up to our newsletter for the most distinctive football content delivered direct to your inbox
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to 3 Added Minutes, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Arsenal’s busy summer continues as they look to make upgrades across their forward line with Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko, Jamie Gittens and Rafael Leao all potential arrivals this transfer window, but providing quality back-up to Bukayo Saka also remains a priority and a London rival may have the perfect player available.
According to FootballTransfers, Arsenal have held talks with West Ham about signing Mohammed Kudus - who has three years remaining on his deal at the London Stadium - for around €55-€60 million (£43-£51m).
Signed for £38m in 2023, Kudus had a destructive debut campaign scoring 14 goals in all competitions and making nine Premier League assists, and though he failed to back that up in a more difficult sophomore season that featured nine goal contributions the big six remain interested in the 24-year-old.
It won’t be straightforward as Chelsea are interested in Kudus and he’s reportedly one of Tottenham’s top targets under new manager Thomas Frank, though they don’t believe he’s worth his £85m release clause.
The Guardian believe Frank and Daniel Levy are preparing a £50m bid to test West Ham’s resolve, so there’s scope for Arsenal to hijack the deal and they may have the perfect secret weapon to beat their bitter North London rivals to capturing the Ghanaian, in the form of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Sportwitness.co.uk believe West Ham have emerged as a potential destination for the quadruple Premier League champion who Arsenal have priced at around €15m (£13m) this summer, and with several continental giants also interested in Zinchenko, a swap deal plus cash would be the perfect way to ensure both London clubs secure their targets this transfer window.
Kudus would be perfect foil to Saka
Building out their attack beyond simply Martin Odegaard and Saka must be Mikel Arteta’s main aims this summer and that includes employing a better rotation option on the right flank to give him more control over the 23-year-old’s playing time and reduce the risk of injuries.
The Gunners’ reliance on Saka was made painfully clear last season - Squawka revealed their goal output per 90 minutes had dropped from 2.12 to 1.77 without their talisman and they won 0.5 fewer points per game against top-half sides.
Marcus Rashford’s collapse at Old Trafford serves as an example of the toll playing so much at such a young age can cause problems down the line, as Manchester United managers were so desperately in need of short-term success that they kept flogging potentially their best academy graduate of the 21st century until it was inevitable he’d break down.
Arteta doesn’t have that same pressure but must have more viable options on the right than an out-of-position Ethan Nwaneri or Gabriel Martinelli, or Raheem Sterling and Kudus would certainly provide that.
His game isn’t the most rounded but Kudus possesses a gamebreaking ability with the ball at his feet. He had the most successful take-ons in the Premier League in 2023/24 by an absolute street - 124 with Jeremy Doku the next-best at 87 - and just as importantly can turn them into chances, ranking in the top 5% and 15% of the league’s wingers and attacking midfielders for shots and goals created by beating a man.
Kudus’ passing numbers aren’t titanic but they’re effective: he excels at switching the play, ranking fourth in the league for such passes last season, and boasts very strong medium and long pass completion percentages of 89 and 68 respectively.
Additionally, Kudus brings valuable versatility across the front line as he’s lined up 32 times on the right, 21 on the left and 24 through the middle in claret and blue, though is most effective in the former with 10 goals and six assists when he can cut in and fire from his stronger left foot.
A fee of £85m is extremely rarified air occupied by the likes of Rodrygo and Morgan Rodgers this summer and there’s clearly no way that Kudus is worth that much - Arsenal have made that clear to the Hammers themselves.
However, a bid of around £40-45m plus Zinchenko would require serious consideration by West Ham, especially as the 28-year-old could solve either of two problem positions for Graham Potter.
Zinchenko could fill holes in West Ham defence or midfield
West Ham are keen to strengthen in central midfield and at left-back this summer - and they’re the two positions where Zinchenko has made over 80% of his career appearances.
Emerson Palmieri and Ollie Scales split game time at left-back last season and though the latter impressed in flashes, he’s still a teenager and Potter wants to bring in a more experienced head who could compete and potentially win the shirt from the Italian who turns 31 in August.
Meanwhile James Ward-Prowse is also into his fourth decade had only started five times in top flight by the end of January last campaign, and Lucas Paqueta’s gambling investigation could deprive Potter of another frontline midfielder.
And despite clocking his fewest number of Premier League minutes ever in 2024/25, Zinchenko averaged a goal contribution every 2-3 games and remains a major creative threat. His passing range make him a brilliant fit for version of Potterball but the former Brighton boss must fight off stiff competition from European giants to land the Ukranian.
AC Milan are chasing Zinchenko hard, seeing him as a replacement for the outgoing Theo Hernandez, while Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax are also interested in such a devalued player, so if Kudus can net West Ham a healthy profit and such a well-suited addition to their squad it would be a genius piece of business.