Ex-scout claims Manchester United and Tottenham battled for African talent’s signing in 2018.
Roberto De Zerbi has come under pressure at Tottenham Hotspur following Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa. The 47-year-old took a dig at his side’s “fragile and inconsistent” nature following a 3-2 defeat, which leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table heading into the international break.
Mohammed Kudus decided to withdraw his name from Ghana’s squad for the upcoming AFCON qualifiers as he wants to focus on his fitness. The 26-year-old’s debut season in N17 was brought to a premature end after he suffered a serious quad injury against Sunderland in January. He has not started a Premier League match this season, having been eased back from a long-term quad injury with substitute appearances.
The Ghanaian international came off the bench in Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat to Villa. Even though Mohammed Kudus supplied an assist, he looked rusty against Villa.
Ex-scout claims Manchester United were very close to signing Tottenham playmaker Mohammed Kudus
Kudus joined Spurs for £55million from West Ham last summer and made an immediate impact as he produced five assists in his first seven league games. The playmaker’s form tailed off as the season progressed before he sustained a quad injury.
The left-footed attacker’s career began in Ghana with the Right to Dream academy, before he was picked up by Danish side Nordsjaelland in 2018. And after two seasons with Nordsjaelland, he joined Eredivisie giants Ajax. Now, former scout Bryan King claims Manchester United came very close to signing Kudus before he moved to Ajax.
“I’ve known this boy since 2017 when he was playing for Nordsjaelland and so did a lot of clubs,” Bryan King exclusively told Football Insider.
“Arsenal, Spurs, Man United, Aston Villa I was working with, were all aware of this player and were aware that he could be bought for somewhere in the region of about £800,000 at the time.
“I know Manchester United were very close to signing him and they were messing around, as did Arsenal and as did Tottenham, and the thing that put Aston Villa out of the race was because they were in the Championship.
“That put Villa out of it, but those three clubs all had the chance to sign him. The fee was about €7m, but Ajax came in and bought him for €9m. It’s funny because it was Erik ten Hag had brought him in, and it was very surprising that he never joined Man United.
“My dear friend Tommy Moller Nielsen, who passed away a couple of years ago, was very much into Nordsjaelland, and it looked as though it was going to be between Spurs and Man United for this player.
“Spurs seemed to back out, and now, of course, Spurs have paid £55m for him, which again goes to show what kind of recruitment was going on at that football club.”
Kudus can solve Tottenham’s creativity issue
Kudus was a revelation in his first year in the Premier League with West Ham, troubling defenders with his flair, directness, dribbling and movement. Two strong seasons with the Hammers finally prompted Tottenham to splash the cash and bring in the player to north London.
Some may argue the Ghanaian international is a luxury player and do not need him, but his quality is difficult to ignore. The versatile midfielder guarantees goals and assists and has performed very well in the Premier League ever since arriving from Ajax in 2023.
Spurs have lacked creativity and goals this season, and a player of Kudus’ profile could help solve both problems. It is hard to blame the Lilywhites for failing to secure him previously, given how close they came to a deal.