Mohammed Kudus to West Ham United still on after £35m bid rejected with ‘bumper’ double-swoop for Youssef En-Nesyri wanted
West Ham are still “working hard” to improve their attacking options and “remain in talks” for Mohammed Kudus, according to The Telegraph.
The newspaper reported via their website on Wednesday (23 August) that despite a second bid worth £35million being rejected by Ajax the Hammers are still pushing for the Ghanian international, and are aiming for a “bumper double deal” for the 23-year-old plus Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri.
West Ham are reportedly “keen to add both” to the squad before the deadline, and Sevilla are thought to be “open” to selling long-term target En-Nesyri, 26.
Sky Sports’ Dharmsesh Sheth had reported on Tuesday the club were “deciding” whether to go back in with a new bid for Kudus, and it appears they have decided to stick with the pursuit.
West Ham are looking to boost the attack after the exit of Gianluca Scamacca, having added two in midfield in Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse, plus Konstantinos Mavropanos in defence.
Undeterred
There isn’t much time left to do it in but the Irons look intent on adding more firepower going forward, even if it isn’t going to come cheap.
Kudus looks like a very strong option, but after a move to Brighton broke down and amid suggestions that Ajax are simply moving the goalposts because they don’t want him to leave [Fabrizio Romano, 22 August], it doesn’t look easy.
En-Nesyri appears to be the more straightforward deal of the two on paper if the Spanish club are ready to let him go for financial reasons, but David Moyes has been chasing him for multiple summers now without success so it may be easier said than done.
After numerous pursuits and no little disappointment during the current window West Ham have now replaced Declan Rice with two strong options, and landed extra reinforcements for the back line.
So it seems like a system has been worked out between the manager and Tim Steidten as pressure mounts the closer the deadline has got.
But with Michail Antonio, Lucas Paqueta and Pablo Fornals all linked with exits over the past fortnight, and both Scamacca and Manuel Lanzini already gone, the need to add in attack is clear.
If the Hammers can push these two deals over the line the transfer window will end up looking respectable, if far from perfect perfect, when for a long time it threatened to be a huge disappointment.
But it is going to take some heavy negotiating and plenty of money to get it done so there is no time to spare in the final week.
In other West Ham news, a disappointing development has already emerged over the potential debut of a new arrival.