West Ham believe they’re being ‘quite reasonable’ after responding to Tottenham and their raised second bid for Mohammed Kudus, according to a report.
After cooling on the idea of signing Eberechi Eze and baulking at Bournemouth’s £70m demands for Antoine Semenyo, Tottenham have fixed their gaze on Mohammed Kudus.
The West Ham ace cost £38m (prior to add-ons) to sign when plucked from Ajax two years ago. The 24-year-old has looked unplayable at times in the Premier League and Spurs believe he can take his game to even greater heights in north London.
The Telegraph recently stated West Ham are reluctantly willing to sell Kudus to help balance the books and finance moves of their own. Fabrizio Romano subsequently revealed Kudus is ‘open’ to a move across the capital.
Those updates were quickly followed by numerous outlets stating Tottenham had seen a £50m bid knocked back.
The offer was actually tabled in June and was immediately rejected by Graham Potter’s side.
But according to a fresh update from TBR Football, Spurs aren’t content to take no for an answer and have returned with an improved bid.
They stated the second offer was worth £55m (£50m plus £5m in add-ons). Unfortunately for Spurs, it has been rejected too.
West Ham being ‘reasonable’ with price tag
The report went on to shed light on how big of a bid is required to seal a deal.
TBR’s update read: ‘West Ham United decided to reject the latest offer and are standing firm over their asking price, adamant that any accepted offer must at least start with a six.
‘The Hammers want around £65 million for Kudus and feel they are being quite reasonable, given his £84 million release clause at the London Stadium.’
Whether Spurs will now get to work on an elevated third bid or whether they’ll throw in the towel and explore yet more alternatives remains to be seen.
It was the ultra-reliable David Ornstein who previously brought news of Spurs baulking at Bournemouth’s £70m asking price for Semenyo.
If Spurs are not prepared to break their transfer record for a signing of this type, Kudus may also be out of reach.
Spurs’ current record buy remains Dominic Solanke via his £65m (£55m plus £10m in add-ons) switch from Bournemouth last summer.
Latest Tottenham news – Cristian Romero…
In other news, Atletico Madrid are ready to meet Tottenham’s asking price for Cristian Romero.
The Argentine has entered the final two years of his contract and there is no sign of an extension.
As such, AS state Spurs have slapped a €70m asking price on the centre-back and Atleti are willing to pay it, though in a deal inclusive of add-ons.
Diego Simeone’s side are reportedly ready to bid €55m plus €15m in add-ons. Whether the rumoured bid will be deemed satisfactory by Spurs and prompt a sale, only time will tell.
Assessing the no-win situation Tottenham find themselves in with Romero, The Athletic’s Dan Kilpatrick said: “For Romero I think it would be a bad message for Spurs to sell their World Cup-winning captain at this point,
“They’re looking to kick on and build on the Europa League success but he’s got two years on his contract and there’s no really good outcome for Spurs in this one.
“Either they sell him now and bank big money or they run the risk of him running it down and then being over a barrel in a year or 18 months’ time.
“So I think they have to consider any really good offers for Romero this summer. But the way he played in the Europa League I think he showed he’s a winner, he’s a leader.
“Spurs haven’t had many of them over the years, they don’t have many of them in the squad now, so they won’t want to lose the one they’ve got.”