West Ham United push for Mohammed Kudus transfer amid hijack risk from Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United
West Ham are “pushing” to get a deal done for Mohammed Kudus because there is a risk of hijack from rival interested Premier League giants, according to Graeme Bailey.
The 90min journalist said on the Talking Transfers podcast on Friday (18 August) that the Ajax star and Hammers technical director Tim Steidten both “know” the other clubs are in the picture, with the German doing “the smart thing” to try to get a move over the line before any of the rivals decide to “pull the trigger”.
Steidten has been in the Netherlands in recent days negotiating directly with the Ghanian international, 23, although The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported Saturday that the Irons’ current bid has been rejected.
Bailey said (41m) on the risk of a hijack: “I do. I think you could really sell it to me if United came in for him, wouldn’t surprise me. If Arsenal came in, wouldn’t surprise me. If Chelsea came in, would not surprise me.
“We know they’re all interested, but are they interested enough to really push this through? That’s why Tim Steidten, as we speak, is in Amsterdam. He’s aware of these other teams, and so are Kudus’ people.
“That’s why they kept Brighton at arm’s length. They didn’t really reject them but Brighton said, ‘No, we’ve had enough of waiting for you, we’re not going to wait’.
“Kudus knows these teams have an interest, but do they have an interest to really pull the trigger? That’s what West Ham are doing, the clever thing…
“West Ham are pushing it now because they know there are other teams hovering.”
Under threat?
The Hammers are going to have to reach an agreement with the Eredivisie giants above all, and if Kudus didn’t consider Brighton big enough to commit to the move Steidten will have to convince him West Ham are.
Both sides are in the Europa League this season, but Bailey has suggested that the chance to play as a striker could be tipping the balance to the London Stadium in that regard.
However, a positional opportunity may not be enough if one of the so-called ‘Big Six’ decide to stump up, especially big-spending Chelsea.
Kudus looks like a an excellent signing if West Ham can get it over the line without any of the aforementioned clubs disrupting the move, with his versatility and his outright quality on display over the past year.
Ajax are understandably reluctant to let him leave but after keeping hold of him a year ago when he pushed to get a move to Everton it looks like the chances of a deal getting done look far higher with the Irons this time around.
Steidten is doing the right thing in taking the initiative now and traveling to negotiate in person, which after a summer of dithering in the transfer window it is encouraging move.
The next few days should be crucial in the push to get Kudus in, especially as approaching the final days of the window usually means anything could happen which in this case would clearly be a risk.
In other West Ham news, the Irons have reached “total agreement” on another new signing after Steidten pushed on that deal as well.