Harry Redknapp has given his verdict on Tottenham Hotspur links with West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus.
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Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has shared some cautious hesitation over the club’s transfer pursuit for West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus this summer.
The north London outfit have now seen two bids rejected by the Hammers, who were not to be budged at the offer of £50 million up front and £12.5 million of add-ons from Daniel Levy.
Kudus has an £85 million release clause in his West Ham contract, which has another three years to run, leaving the Hammers in a strong negotiating position. That release clause is set to expire on July 10.
West Ham want £60m for Mohammed Kudus
The Sun has claimed that West Ham could accept a £60 million bid for Kudus but that fee would have to come up front, rather than in add-ons. It is believed that Spurs’ previous offer included clauses for extra payments such as them winning the Premier League or Champions League, which is unlikely over the next 12 months.
With his release clause there for the taking, and a not so outrageous £60 million asking price, you can’t help but feel some sort of hesitation from Tottenham Hotspur and Daniel Levy to making that move a reality.
West Ham, who need to raise funds to kickstart their own summer spending, want to sell Kudus. The winger is there for the taking, so what’s with the hesitation?
Harry Redknapp fired Tottenham Hotspur warning
Questions over whether Kudus is the right man to join Spurs were posed by Redknapp when speaking to talkSPORT on Tuesday. He said: “Yeah, he’s not bad. There’s no doubting his ability. I know one or two people around the place at West Ham, I think there are question marks over him.
“I think his ability is not questionable but I don’t know. But he’s certainly got ability and he’s a player that when he gets on the ball, he can make things happen, he’ll be exciting. So yeah he’ll certainly bring something to Tottenham for sure.”
Redknapp’s seal of approval was hardly convincing on the player. Kudus scored just five Premier League goals last season in his second campaign of top flight football, but was part of a West Ham team all struggling for form.
There are questions over his temperament too. Kudus famously lost his cool in a match against Tottenham Hotspur last season and received an FA ban on top of a red card. Speaking about that at the time, former West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui said: “Unfortunately Kudus is going to be out for three matches because his behaviour was not good and he knows that.
“He knows he has to improve because this can't happen. I hope it's the last time this happens. I'm sure it is not going to happen [again]. I talked with him and sometimes you don't have to talk a lot about this kind of situation because he knows it was a mistake. I say, for sure, that he will learn about this incident and his behaviour will handle this better in the future."
There’s no doubt that there is talent with Kudus, Redknapp knows that too. If Thomas Frank believes that he can unlock it and get the player firing again at Spurs then it is the move to make - but this stalling over a move does not give a feeling of confidence that is the case.
In other news, West Ham should demand Tottenham include player with 'unbelievable consistency' in £50m Kudus offer - opinion.