After strong links earlier in the summer transfer window with Eberechi Eze, it seems Tottenham Hotspur may have shifted their gaze to a new target: Mohammed Kudus.
A number of reports have begun to filter through over the last 24 hours around Spurs’ interest in the Ghanaian footballer, not least from noted Spurs fan Matt Law at the Telegraph (paywall), declaring Kudus is “a primary target” for the Lilywhites (with that “a” doing a bit of heavy lifting in that sentence which is a direct quote from the piece).
Spurs had already been linked previously, with us covering a rumored £50 million bid a couple of weeks ago - something that has been echoed by a handful of parties. In Law’s piece, however, he indicates Spurs are yet to bid but are monitoring the situation, also addressing the historical bad blood between the two clubs (but not really speaking as to how that could impact this current situation).
It’s hard to know exactly what’s true - Law tends to write with a little bit of an “agenda” when it comes to Spurs but is typically pretty accurate, and this could be a case of semantics. West Ham are in a bit of trouble under PSR, and need to sell some players; they view Kudus as an easy way to recoup some cash, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Daniel Levy, ever the opportunist, snuck in a sneaky verbal offer just to test the waters; not an “official bid” as such, but potentially laying the groundwork for something more formal.
Further sources have corroborated Law’s piece over the last day, as Fabrizio Romano declared that Spurs have made contact with Kudus’ agents, with the attacker open to a move. This was then echoed by Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian and Ben Jacobs of GiveMeSport, who both intimated there is a “sense” that £60 million could be enough to get the deal done. Romano then followed up on his YouTube channel, reporting that Spurs had asked Kudus’ agents to keep them informed on any movement for the player.
It’s a lot of smoke, and enough to say the interest is real. Is it any more than interest, or is Kudus just one on a list? It’s hard to say, though it does seem to feel like the needle is starting to move towards the former. That said, the line of reporting does seem to scream “agent talk”, so it is quite possible (even probable) that Johan Lange has a few irons (get it?) in the fire.
Kudus is a decent player who has come off a pretty bad season. I think he could add something to this Spurs side; but I’m not sure the outlay is worth it in this case, with other options from the continent providing similar or better output for less money. And that’s without going into the whole situation where Kudus whacked one of our squad in the face during a match.
There is talent there to dream on, though, and Kudus would also bring a level of versatility with him that could be useful. He’s arguably also a better fit than Eze in a Thomas Frank-led squad. Let’s see where this one goes.