Sky Sports share Mohammed Kudus twist as West Ham United want transfer

West Ham will face competition from four Premier League clubs in the race to sign Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus, according to Sky Sports.

The news outlet reported on its Transfer Centre [14 August, 13:09] that the Hammers have made an initial enquiry about bringing the player to East London, with Brighton named as one of the four clubs competing for his signature.

Reports previously had suggested that Brighton were set to sign Kudus, but negotiations over his contract hit a wall as a deadline was imposed by Ajax for a decision to be made [SussexWorld, 10 August].

West Ham need to move fast

The Hammers will need to move fast if they wish to get this deal over the line before other suitors can pip them to the player's signature.

It has been reported that Kudus is viewed as a replacement for Lucas Paqueta, should the Brazilian midfielder leave to join Manchester City, and as City step up their interest, it would be smart for West Ham to make their move early before they are desperate.

As the Hammers know all too well, when clubs know you have money and need to spend it, they tend to demand much higher fees as they know they can call the shots in the deal. In this case, Ajax can also use the other interested parties as bargaining chips.

It can be assumed that as well as Brighton, one of the other interested clubs from England is Chelsea. The Blues were linked with a move for the Ghanaian earlier in the transfer window [football.london, 25 July] and their interest may remain if they are unable to find a deal with Crystal Palace for Michael Olise.

In other West Ham news, another Manchester United player is set for West Ham talks after Harry Maguire.