Everton

Everton

Premier League • England

Everton ‘strongest candidates’ for Ghana World Cup star after Lampard reignites summer interest

Mohammed Kudus, Andre Ayew, Ghana, celebrate a goal at the FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar

Everton are reportedly leading the chase for Ajax attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus, who put in some dazzling performances in the World Cup for Ghana. 

Kudus reportedly tried to force a move to Goodison Park in the summer after refusing to attend Ajax training but has since become an important figure for the Dutch champions.

Frank Lampard is keen to add more attacking options to his side to stave off another relegation threat, after being linked with moves for Ismaila Sarr and Boulaye Dia in recent days.

This is according to Guardian journalist Gary al-Smith, who announced on Sky Sports News this afternoon that Everton still hold the advantage in the pursuit of Kudus.

After breaking into the Ajax side, the 22-year-old has performed admirably this season. He’s scored five goals in 14 appearances in the Eredivisie and has been particularly impressive in the Champions League, netting four times in six matches, along with two assists.

A quick, direct and skilful player, Kudus has the confidence to run directly at defenders and take shots on from any angle, something Everton have been missing for a long time.

Kudus is also versatile in that he can play anywhere along the front three, as well as a number 10 and a deeper lying number eight in midfield, although his attributes favour a more attacking role.

In the World Cup, Kudus undoubtedly stood out for Ghana after putting in some fine performances, scoring two goals in his country’s three outings in the group stages.

Kudus the ‘absolute star’ of Ghana’s World Cup, says Al-Smith

Being a young player, there is unsurprisingly a lot of excitement surrounding Kudus at the moment.

Earlier, al-Smith said: “For Ghana, the absolute star of this World Cup has been Mohammed Kudus and we know that three Premier League clubs are interested, with Everton being one of the strongest.”

Al-Smith also added that Spurs are another very interested party, with Matt Doherty issuing a ‘come and get me plea’ for the Ghanaian star.

Everton came extremely close to signing Kudus in the summer, with Fabrizio Romano announcing that the Toffees were set to sign the youngster on a loan-to-buy agreement, with personal terms already agreed.

However, the deal fell at the final hurdle after Ajax opted to keep the Ghanaian when former winger Antony joined Manchester United.

Now, Kudus’ stock will have undoubtedly gone up, so whoever wants the attacking midfielder will be set for a higher price tag this time.

Although, due to Kudus already having a connection with Everton and allegedly having some positive conversations with Lampard, this may give the Blues an advantage.

The worry for Evertonians though is that as clubs higher up the Premier League table (which, let’s be honest, is most teams at the moment) register an interest in Kudus, his head may be turned elsewhere and they’ll end up regretting what could have been.

The other question is, after becoming such a key player for Ajax, will they allow Kudus to leave?

Possibly. But it will most likely require a much higher fee than what Everton had already agreed just a few months ago… unless he starts dodging training sessions again.

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