The talks between Chelsea and West Ham over a potential instant deal to flip Jadon Sancho from west to east London took a stunning five-player twist involving Mohammed Kudus.
Chelsea were expected to complete the £25m signing of Jadon Sancho but wanted to instantly flip him to West Ham.
Sancho spent last season on loan at Stamford Bridge from Man United and had two clauses in the deal.
The first was an obligation for Chelsea to sign Sancho permanently for £25m.
The second was a £5m cancellation fee – in lieu of an up-front loan payment – if they did not sign him permanently.
That’s where West Ham came in, Hammers News understands.
What really happened during West Ham and Chelsea talks
West Ham are facing PSR issues this summer.
The Hammers are at their limit in terms of spending and wages vs turnover and are banking on selling several players to raise funds for Graham Potter’s first proper foray into the transfer market since his time at Chelsea.
Although when manager of the Blues, Potter had players foisted upon him with little input on who or how many Todd Boehly and co brought in.
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Mohammed Kudus is the player West Ham are banking on making the most money from this summer as they look to start trading.
Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Rather than pay the £5m fee to simply send Sancho back to Man United, Chelsea offered Sancho to West Ham in a deal that would involve them signing Kudus, transfer insider Graeme Bailey has told Hammers News.
But the Chelsea and West Ham Sancho talks took a wild five-player twist involving Kudus.
Bailey says Hammers majority owner David Sullivan – who has reprised his role as the club’s de facto director of football – ‘likes’ Sancho.
Potter and head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay did not share Sullivan’s enthusiasm for the deal, though, either with Chelsea or Man United – who are also said to have an interest in Kudus.
Sancho talks took wild five-player twist involving Kudus
That’s when the talks between the Hammers and Blues took an intriguing twist.
Because Chelsea floated the names of five players West Ham have been linked with to try and work a deal for Kudus.
Bailey says the Hammers were offered midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez as part of a deal because Chelsea ‘really like’ Kudus as a Sancho alternative.
But Carney Chukwuemeka, Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah were also names raised in discussions with West Ham over a deal for Kudus.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Potter rejected swap deal despite involving several alleged targets
How many of those players Chelsea were willing to send West Ham’s way in exchange for Kudus is unclear.
Although Bailey says Chelsea ideally want to sell the latter trio for cash.
Bailey says Potter and Macaulay were ‘not convinced’ by the idea.
The big question now is whether those talks are resurrected or Chelsea come back in with a straight cash offer for Kudus.
In the meantime, Chelsea have announced Sancho is not being signed permanently.
Sullivan ‘likes’ Sancho for Hammers so watch this space
They will instead pay the £5m levy to send him back to Old Trafford.
His future will now be interesting because given Sullivan likes the player and Kudus will be leaving, West Ham will need a replacement attacker.
The likes of talkSPORT have now jumped on the Sancho story – which was exclusively broken by Bailey – and believe West Ham’s interest in the England winger remains.
Responding to Chelsea’s post about Sancho’s exit, the player said: “Grateful for the experience. Big love to everyone at Chelsea who made me feel at home – team-mates, staff, and the fans.
“Wishing the club all the best moving forward. Truly grateful, thank you Blues.”