West Ham United schedule new talks for Mohammed Kudus deal, personal terms close – Fabrizio Romano
West Ham United have scheduled fresh talks with Ajax for midfielder Mohammed Kudus, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The journalist tweeted (18 August) that an agreement on personal terms between the Hammers and Kudus is close, but some “final points” still need to be negotiated.
While verbal discussions remain between West Ham and the Dutch giants, no formal bid has been sent by the deal is advancing.
Advancing
West Ham can begin to get excited over this deal now.
Their midfield situation has quickly shifted from having no Declan Rice to now having James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez and now potentially Kudus. If they can keep Paqueta, the Hammers could be set up with one of the league’s best midfields.
With personal terms looking close, Kudus must be at least interested in a move to London following three full seasons in Amsterdam. Brighton were close to securing a deal for the Ghanaian international, with The Athletic reporting (5 August) that the Seagulls had reached a deal in principle.
However, this deal never transpired and now West Ham have their chance. If Roberto de Zerbi’s side, one of the most exciting teams in the Premier League, wanted Kudus then the Hammers certainly will have a quality operator on their books.
But West Ham have been burned this window before with advanced deals, with Harry Maguire very close to signing for the Hammers before the move collapsed.
That being said, with 0.58 non-penalty goals per 90 (98th percentile), 4.61 successful take-ons per 90 (99th percentile) and 6.43 touches in the attacking penalty area (98th percentile) [FBRef], the 23-year-old could add a new dimension to David Moyes’ midfield.
In other West Ham news, a fresh bid for Lucas Paqueta is “imminent” as the transfer saga continues.