Chelsea a threat as West Ham United fail to complete Mohammed Kudus transfer
There is still an “outside chance” that Chelsea could yet sign Mohammed Kudus as West Ham have still not completed a move for him, according to Ben Jacobs.
The CBS journalist reported via Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing on 22 August that the Blues are looking for another attacker before the deadline and the Ghanian international could still be the man since the Hammers have “failed to date to agree a deal for”.
Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson and Lyon’s Bradley Barcola are tipped as being ahead of the Ajax star in Chelsea’s thoughts for now.
Tim Steidten has been in Amsterdam attempting to get a Kudus deal done, but the Irons £41million offer is short of the £44m asking price [Guardian, 20 August].
Interest from Stamford Bridge, as well as Arsenal and Manchester United is a going concern, and a potential hijack can’t be written off unless or until a move is completed.
Pressure
Despite Chelsea’s huge spending the 3-1 Hammers win at the London Stadium when the two sides met suggested Kudus is probably needed more in the west of the capital than the east at the moment.
That is all the more true with Mauricio Pochettino’s scorer on the day, Carney Chukwuemeka, injured during the game and now out for six weeks.
But while it is an injury crisis of sorts that has left the numbers thin in attack at Stamford Bridge, with Christopher Nkunku also out long-term and Armando Broja still covering from an ACL tear, the same fate befalling the Irons would leave them very bare.
Gianluca Scamacca and Manuel Lanzini’s exits this summer haven’t yet been made up for, and with both Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals wanted, and the club only just dodging a Lucas Paqueta exit, it wouldn’t take much to leave David Moyes scrambling.
Kudus’ versatility would be invaluable in that case, so with the gap between the two clubs’ valuations so slim it seems like it would be worth upping the offer before Chelsea get any ideas.
There remains the risk of a possible suspension for Paqueta until the FA hearing around betting rules is heard, so with little time left in the window the heat is on in the push for Kudus.
In other West Ham news, another Irons signing is set to be announced as contract details have emerged.