West Ham United receive transfer encouragement as Mohammed Kudus open to move – Sky Sports

Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus is open to a move to West Ham United handing them plenty of encouragement in their attempts to sign him, according to Sky Sports

According to Sky Sports, reporting on their live transfer blog (21 August, 9:26 am), the Hammers aren’t giving up hope in signing the Ghanaian international, despite having an opening bid rejected, according to David Ornstein (19 August)

The Athletic journalist shared on 19 August, the Hammers’ proposal was below what their Dutch c

ounterparts would consider to part with Kudus and the offer got turned down overnight on Friday (18 August).

It is unclear where the situation leads from here but West Ham United aren’t giving up hope in their attempts to seal their third signing of the summer after completing deals for Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse.

Make another move

After Brighton saw a bid of around £35m accepted by Ajax a couple of weeks ago, this latest news regarding a bid rejected certainly suggests that the Hammers’ offer was certainly below anything Ajax would have considered to sell their prized asset.

However, if West Ham United are serious about securing their priority midfield target this summer, then they’ve simply got to match that £35m offer or more because Kudus is worth every penny.

Kudus over the past two campaigns has emerged as one of Europe’s finest young midfielders due to his performances both at club level and on the international stage, starring for Ghana in December’s World Cup in Qatar.

With interest in Lucas Paqueta cooling on Manchester City’s part, David Moyes now holds the exciting and brilliant opportunity to add to the midfield talent and creativity he already has by recruiting another incredible and established talent to partner with the Brazilian.

The Irons would be very smart to make another bid for Kudus, or better yet, match the £35m.

In other West Ham news, the Hammers have entered the hunt to sign this incredibly gifted Belgian attacker.

Jamie Redknapp believes that Nicolas Jackson should have taken Chelsea’s penalty against West Ham and not Enzo Fernandez. The 22-year-old midfielder, who joined the Blues from Benfica in January for a then British-record fee, scuppered the chance to put his side ahead at the London Stadium.

Just moments before half-time, Raheem Sterling spearheaded another Chelsea attack, driving at the Hammers’ retreating backline. He evaded a challenge from Lucas Paqueta before slaloming past Tomas Soucek, whose attempt at a tackle brought the 28-year-old forward down.

The referee pointed the spot and Jackson appeared to quickly pick up the ball and bounce it before handing it over to Fernandez. The Argentina international, whose CV certainly warranted the authority to take the spot kick, was denied by Alphonse Areola.

After failing to secure a lead at the break, Chelsea went on to concede shortly into the second-half before Paqueta put the final nail in the coffin in the dying embers from the penalty spot. Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Redknapp outlined the penalty as a key turning point in the game and claimed that Jackson should’ve capitalised on the chance to open his account this term.

“He certainly excited me in pre-season in the Summer Series as well,” said the former Liverpool midfielder. “He looked sharp, he was bright, he was good on the ball, he’s got lovely touches.

“He works extremely hard for the team as well. There were moments in the first half where I thought ‘wow, what a player this guy looks’. Unfortunately when you’re a No.9 and a striker you get judged on your goals.