Chelsea in talks to hijack dazzling Tottenham signing

James Holland 04 Jul 2025 5:15 PM

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca

Chelsea are in negotiations with West Ham United as they look to sign Mohammed Kudus before rivals Tottenham Hotspur, with reports revealing the bids that have been made so far and how much the Irons want before selling.

Kudus held talks with both Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion before arriving at West Ham in August 2023. West Ham paid Ajax £38million to bring Kudus to the Premier League after he had scored 27 goals in 87 appearances while in the Netherlands.

The versatile forward, who can play as a winger or central attacking midfielder, has since managed 19 goals and 13 assists in 80 games for West Ham.

While Kudus received criticism at times last season, he remains a highly-rated Premier League attacker who is expected to shine at the very highest level in Europe if he reaches his full potential.

West Ham could make a big profit on the Ghanaian as Chelsea and Tottenham are battling to sign him.

Spurs began the bidding at £50m, only to see this get rejected by West Ham. Spurs have since returned with a new offer worth £55m.

But this latest gambit is unlikely to succeed either as West Ham want £65-70m for Kudus. They feel this price tag is ‘quite reasonable’ given the fact the player has an £84m release clause in his contract, which runs until June 2028.

As per Chelsea reporter Simon Phillips, Enzo Maresca’s side are ‘pushing’ to land Kudus before Spurs.

Chelsea have had a £50m bid of their own ‘turned away’ and are now in talks over sending one of their players to West Ham to sweeten the Kudus deal for the Irons.

Although, Chelsea will ‘have to be quick’ as Spurs are ‘advancing on the deal’ and getting closer to meeting West Ham’s demands.

The report adds that Newcastle United and clubs in Saudi Arabia are also keen on the 24-year-old.

Mohammed Kudus poised to join Chelsea or Tottenham

TEAMtalk revealed on June 25 that Newcastle have identified Kudus as a backup target in case they are unsuccessful in their pursuit of Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga.

Sources confirmed to us on June 5 that Kudus is open to joining Chelsea, viewing a potential move to Stamford Bridge as the next step in his career.

We previously revealed that Chelsea have held talks over sending goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to West Ham. But it is unclear if Chelsea are still open to Sanchez’s exit as their swoop for his replacement, Mike Maignan, has stalled.

Thomas Frank has endorsed Spurs’ prospective signing of Kudus, but they need to increase their offer to stop him from joining Chelsea.

The Blues have already signed Liam Delap and Joao Pedro to improve their attacking options this summer, while also reaching an agreement for Jamie Gittens. But they want another winger such as Kudus to join, having put both Noni Madueke and Christopher Nkunku on the market and also allowed Jadon Sancho to return to Manchester United.