West Ham United have made good use of the £105m war chest which was secured by selling homegrown talent Declan Rice this summer.
New arrivals have included Mexican gem Edson Alvarez and former Southampton sensation James Ward-Prowse, yet Hammers boss David Moyes will be hoping to bring in another few players before the end of the transfer window, especially with a hectic schedule awaiting them.
Could they be getting closer to securing signing number three of the summer?
A recent update by Fabrizio Romano suggests it might not be long before another player arrives in east London…
Who will West Ham United sign next?
Romano shared an update on West Ham’s pursuit of Ajax gem Mohammed Kudus.
Writing on Twitter, he said:
“West Ham have scheduled new round of talks for Mohammed Kudus deal — the agreement on personal terms is close as final points need to be discussed.
“Verbal negotiation ongoing with Ajax through intermediaries, no formal bid yet but deal advancing.”
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Everything looks like it is falling into place for Moyes and there is still plenty of time to get a deal over the line for the player.
It could cost the club in the region of £40m and given just how important he has been for the Dutch giants over the previous 12 months, it could represent a wonderful piece of business.
How good is Mohammed Kudus?
Moyes has bolstered his midfield options by signing Alvarez and Ward-Prowse, and it now looks as though his attacking options will be strengthened with the addition of Kudus.
Last season, only three West Ham players scored over ten goals and despite their extraordinary success on the continent, winning the Europa Conference League, their Premier League form was patchy to say the least.
Moyes’ men won just 11 games while scoring a paltry 42 goals, and it’s evident some added firepower is required in the starting XI.
Michail Antonio topped the scoring charts at the club during 2022/23 with 14 goals, yet Kudus could be a major upgrade on the 33-year-old.
Although he tends to operate as an attacking midfielder, the Ghanaian can also play further forward to great effect.
Indeed, last season, the 23-year-old registered more goals and assists (22 v 16), shots on target per 90 (1.19 v 1.01), shot-creating actions per 90 (3.04 v 2.14) and completed a higher percentage of successful take-ons (59.8% v 46.4%) than Antonio, clearly suggesting he’d offer a greater threat in the final third compared to the West Ham striker.
Kudus also ranks in the top 10% across the next big eight leagues in Europe for non-penalty goals, shot-creating actions, touches in the attacking penalty area and successful take-ons per 90, showcasing his enormous attacking talent.
In contrast, Antonio fails to even rank in the top 50% across all of these metrics when compared to positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues, and it again proves that Kudus would be a much better option leading the line than the Jamaican international.
Lauded as a “starboy” by former teammate Calvin Bassey, Kudus could take his game to the next level by moving to the Premier League and Moyes would make a huge statement of intent in the process.