Tottenham have had a second bid rejected for West Ham star Mohammed Kudus, and here come Chelsea…
Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso have made their loan moves permanent to sign for Spurs in respective £30m and £21m transfers, while Luka Vuskovic has joined for £9.5m from Hajduk Split, but Thomas Frank is yet to make one of his own additions having replaced Ange Postecoglou.
They were linked with Bryan Mbeumo but he wants to join Manchester United and is nearing a move to Old Trafford as the Red Devils prepare a third bid for the 25-year-old.
And Frank now reportedly has his heart set on Kudus, with both the player and West Ham said to be open to his exit this summer, but Spurs have fallen short of the Hammers’ demands, according to TBR Football.
The Spurs bid, which was ‘logged earlier this week’, was for a fixed fee of £50m plus £5m in add-ons after their initial £50m offer was rejected last month.
The report adds:
‘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.’
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Chelsea have also been linked with Kudus despite already completing the signings of Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30m and Brighton’s Joao Pedro from under Newcastle’s nose for £55m, while also nearing the addition of Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund, also for £55m.
And West Ham’s hope that the Blues may enter a ‘bidding war’ is well founded, according to Hammers insiders Claret and Hugh.
The club chiefs don’t want to retain a player who doesn’t want to be there but want multiple clubs to be in for Kudus to increase his transfer fee.
The report states:
‘Of course with just one bidder, any negotiations are tough for the seller who has no second option if the first won’t play ball on the price sought.
‘However it is still clearly in West Ham’s negotiating team’s mind that Chelsea will rouse themselves and place a better bid on the table for the winger, strengthening the Hammers’ bargaining position and forcing the price up.
‘The fear was that with Chelsea signing Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund for £55 million, their intent would vanish for Kudus. However that is reportedly far from the truth. Sources at the club are very confident that Chelsea will re-enter the bidding.’
Chelsea.news adds that the Blues are positioning themselves ‘to blow Tottenham out of the water for Kudus’ signature’ as they listen to offers for Noni Madueke, who’s attracting serious interest from Arsenal.