Tottenham have agreed a £55m fee with West Ham for the transfer of Mohammed Kudus and a medical has been scheduled, and why this is excellent news for Manchester United has been revealed.
After Bryan Mbeumo gave total priority to Man Utd and Bournemouth slapped a £70m asking price on Antoine Semenyo, Tottenham turned their attention to West Ham ace, Kudus.
An opening bid worth £50m didn’t get the job done, though David Ornstein led the way when revealing Tottenham’s second bid has. What’s more, Spurs have not had to come close to Kudus’ £85m release clause to seal a deal.
Ornstein broke the news of a £55m agreement being struck and the claims were quickly backed up by fellow reporters Ben Jacobs, Fabrizio Romano and Florian Plettenberg, to name just three
Kudus is set to sign a six-year contract running until 2031 and is scheduled to undergo a medical on Thursday.
One club who’ll be breathing a sigh of relief at Tottenham striking for Kudus is Man Utd.
The Red Devils are hellbent on making Bryan Mbeumo their second major signing of the summer. Two bids have been rejected by Brentford thus far, with the highest worth £55m plus £7.5m in add-ons.
Man Utd are believed to be formulating a third bid, though Tottenham could have thrown a spanner in the works.
Ben Jacobs revealed on Wednesday that Spurs were plotting a move to sign Mbeumo’s Brentford teammate, Yoane Wissa.
The key point for Man Utd came when Jacobs stated Brentford would not sell Wissa AND Mbeumo in the same window.
As such, if Tottenham were to snatch Wissa – and Jacobs claimed he’s keen on the move – Brentford would then deny Man Utd by clinging on to Mbeumo.
But with Tottenham now finalising their move for Kudus, the expectation is their Wissa plans will be shelved, much to Man Utd and Mbeumo’s relief.
How will Tottenham use Mohammed Kudus
Providing insight into Tottenham’s plans for Kudus, The Athletic’s Jay Harris wrote: ‘Frank loves players who are positionally versatile. Kudus has spent the majority of his time with West Ham United on the right wing but he operates as a No 10 for Ghana.
‘Frank could use the 24-year-old as a threat cutting inside onto his stronger left foot or as a powerful and dynamic dribbler in tight central areas.
‘Tottenham’s squad struggled to cope with the demands of the Premier League and the Europa League last season so it was crucial that they boosted their numbers this summer.
‘Mathys Tel arrived permanently, after spending the second half of last season on loan from Bayern Munich, but he only turned 20 in April and is still raw. Kudus has a lot of room for growth but is far more experienced and proven.
‘It will be interesting to see how Kudus’ arrival impacts Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski.
‘Johnson was Tottenham’s top scorer in all competitions last season and he scored the winning goal in the Europa League final. Johnson primarily plays on the right and Frank tried to sign him when he was in charge of Brentford.
‘Will Kudus replace Johnson as the first-choice right winger or will he take over Kulusevski’s playmaking responsibilities in the middle of the pitch?
‘Spurs have a lot of attacking talent at their disposal and it will be fascinating to see how Frank will effectively combine them.’