West Ham may finally be closing in on a breakthrough in their bid to sell Mohammed Kudus after a major twist coming out of Chelsea.
The Chelsea development could clear the way for West Ham to sell Mohammed Kudus on for a significant profit and secure the funds they have been waiting for in order to start making their own signings.
Hammers News exclusively revealed earlier this month that West Ham and Chelsea held talks over a potential deal for Kudus.
The Hammers are banking on getting at least £65m for the Ghanaian to help fund ex Chelsea boss Graham Potter’s rebuild in east London.
The importance of that rebuild has been highlighted by West Ham’s dismal record of just five wins in 19 games under Potter and a 14th place finish.
Chelsea have been mulling signing Kudus from the Hammers since initial discussions two weeks ago.
According to reports from the likes of The Guardian, the Irons have held fresh talks with the Blues about the wantaway 24-year-old this week.
Now it seems we may know why.
Chelsea FC v West Ham United FC - Premier League
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca this week confirmed Chelsea have made signing a new ‘winger’ their top priority for their next order of summer business.
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Especially with Mkyhaylo Mudryk facing a possible four-year doping ban.
“We had already one entire season almost without Misha (Mudryk),” Maresca told Sky Sports.
“We’re going to decide to go for a winger not because of Misha. It’s something quite clear that it’s a position that we need to improve.”
West Ham have suggested they can start making signings as soon as they know a certain amount of money is guaranteed to be coming in through sales.
That is why a deal to offload Kudus, who also has Newcastle, Spurs, Arsenal and Man United interested, is so vital.
After Maresca put on record that he wants Chelsea’s next signing to be a new winger, there has been another huge development at Stamford Bridge.
Now all roads lead to a Kudus breakthrough for West Ham after major Chelsea news.
After a superb debut season in which he scored and assisted 20 times for West Ham, Kudus suffered a big dip last term.
He wasn’t alone in the Hammers team of course – but given how good Kudus had been, the drop-off was more pronounced.
Chelsea FC v West Ham United FC - Premier League
Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
That has made selling Kudus for his £85m release clause next to impossible.
However, there is no doubting the quality the Black Stars forward possesses.
Just ask Chelsea ace Cole Palmer who rates Kudus as one of the top players in the Premier League.
One of the reasons Kudus was so good in his first season is because he played in his favoured position off the right while Jarrod Bowen was used as a striker.
Last season, Julen Lopetegui used him on the left and Graham Potter tried to use him in a hybrid role, with the results – or lack of them – speaking volumes.
With Bowen at his best off the right, it creates a problem for the Hammers.
When discussing the intended sale of the Ghana ace recently, West Ham’s board admitted Kudus would be better off at a club where he can play off the right.
Now that is set to open up for him at Chelsea, who are considering their first major sale of the Maresca era by shipping out Noni Madueke.
The Evening Standard reports Chelsea are open to selling Madueke for the right price and want to ‘roll the dice’ on the wide positions.
Arsenal have been linked with Madueke.
But the news will have the biggest impact in east London as it would surely trigger a move for Kudus.
Indeed if Madueke is being made available for sale, Chelsea may just press ahead with signing Kudus.
That would be an ideal scenario for West Ham, who are losing precious time getting Potter’s targets in and ready for pre-season.