Mohammed Kudus internal update emerges as West Ham United star linked to transfer exit
Mohammed Kudus has not yet told West Ham that he wants to leave the club this summer, according to Florian Plettenberg.
The Sky Sports Germany journalist reported via Twitter on 24 June that the Irons star does not yet have an “concrete” offers to leave, although he does have an active release clause worth £85million, but “internally” hasn’t indicated a preference to move.
Kudus, 23, has been linked to the likes of Liverpool [GiveMeSport, 5 May] and the Saudi Pro League’s Al Ittihad [ESPN, 19 June] this summer.
His release clause mirrors that of Lucas Paqueta’s, which was expected to be exercised by Manchester City this summer before the Brazilian’s FA charge for alleged breaches of betting rules [The Athletic, 28 May].
Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta have large West Ham release clauses
The situation around Paqueta is far from ideal, not least for the player himself, as the Hammers face the risk of not having the benefit of his talents on the pitch or a huge transfer fee off it were he to be banned, although he has denied all wrongdoing.
So they already potentially have a major gap to fill there, and were Kudus to be convinced to leave that would compound the issue even allowing for the cash brought in.
The deal to sign Luis Guilherme is clearly a positive but the amount of work it took Tim Steidten to get the youngster to the London Stadium shows that it is often a lot easier said than done to turn money around into signings.
So for now it would appear to be a positive development for the Irons that there is currently no clear signs that Kudus will be going, either on his side or from potential suitors.
But the transfer window has a long way to run so both are subject to change, and surely the more successful the Hammers are in landing reinforcements the more likely the Ghanian star would be content to be part of the new era under Julen Lopetegui.
In other West Ham news, Lopetegui has identified the “ideal” new striker for his Irons forward line from an under-pressure Premier League rival.
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