Manchester City have reportedly joined the race to sign Mohammed Kudus.
The Ghanaian has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in January, with the Gunners keen to add more firepower as they seek to catch Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title.
Kudus’ £85m release clause doesn’t come into play until the summer, which has fuelled rumours that interested clubs are preparing to test West Ham‘s resolve in the winter. Meanwhile, the Hammers will be desperate to hold firm and wait for the summer if a club is unwilling to meet that valuation in January.
City’s recent and somewhat bizarre downturn in form – one win in 12 in all competitions – has perhaps led to them looking towards January as the perfect opportunity to bring in reinforcements.
Wide players such as Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva have all struggled for consistent form this season and Pep Guardiola might be looking to refresh his wide options with the likes of Kudus, who we all know can offer pace, directness, goals and assists to any team on his day.
With both Man City and Arsenal now interested in Kudus, it’s a case of Deja Vu after both clubs were interested in Declan Rice in 2023. City eventually gave Arsenal a free-run at the midfielder, who joined arrived in north London for £105m.
City might, though, be regretting that decision now. It was believed they decided against going all out for Rice because they already had Rodri in that position. It was a fair assessment given Rodri would go on to win the Ballon d’Or just 12 months later.
But Rodri’s ACL injury this season has coincided with City’s struggles, and having a player like Rice to call upon in the Spaniard’s absence will have no doubt been the ideal situation for the Champions.
It could be, then, that City will learn from their mistakes this time around and do whatever it takes to ensure they get their man from West Ham and will not allow rivals Arsenal to strengthen further.
While that could help drive Kudus’ price up, City’s interest also benefits West Ham in their interest in James McAtee. It was reported just last month that the Hammers were keen on the Manchester City youngster, who has impressed on loan at Sheffield United but has seen limited playing time at the Etihad this season.
James McAtee
West Ham are reportedly looking for a loan deal with an option to buy, so if the two clubs are already around the negotiating table over Kudus this winter, West Ham will likely be trying to use those discussions to get what they want from City in return.
It was reported by Alan Nixon earlier this week that City won’t sanction McAtee’s exit until a replacement is signed first. So this is the perfect bargaining chip for the Hammers. We’re a buyer with a replacement already lined up for the selling club.
So this is a development in Kudus’ situation that could benefit West Ham. Hammers fans will be desperate for City to win the race for Kudus if it does go down to either them or Arsenal in the race for his signature.
If they can also take one of Man City’s most promising youngsters as part of the deal, it could be smiles all around in east London and Manchester.