West Ham summer signing Mohammed Kudus was close to joining London rivals Chelsea this summer, it has been reported.

The Ghanaian international arrived in east London after West Ham forked out £38m to Dutch giants Ajax for his services, with the player already impressing greatly and now creating calls for his first Premier League start this weekend against Aston Villa.

Kudus was on hand to fire an excellent late leveller against Newcastle prior to the international break, making that his 3rd goal so far in his Hammers career.

Following Kudus’s arrival in the summer, our Podcast co-host and club insider ExWHUEmployee advised that Chelsea were close to capturing the player, which has now making headlines in the press.

A report in the Daily Mail have confirmed that news, stating that personal terms had even been agreed, but the transfer fee offered fell well below what Ajax were expecting.

“The agent of Mohammed Kudus has revealed an agreement was reached for the forward to join Chelsea this summer, only for the Blues to offer a ‘ridiculous’ transfer fee that scuppered the deal,” it states in the article by Sam Brookes.

“Kudus was a player in demand during the recent transfer window after starring for Ajax last term, scoring 11 goals and providing four assists in the Eredivisie.

“Chelsea, Arsenal and PSG were all linked with the forward, and the west London club looked to have moved into pole position for his signature at one stage.

“Kudus’ agent Jen Mendelewitsch has revealed this was the case and the move was edging closer before Chelsea offered just £17million for the attacker, and then refused to improve their bid. The Ghanaian star eventually joined West Ham in a deal worth £38m.”

ExWHUEmployee has since spoken of the recent reports in the media surrounding Chelsea’s interest in Kudus, and admits that is their loss with Kudus looking very impressive already.

“It’s a strange thing I’ve found this summer, when reporting the Declan Rice deal to Arsenal – their fans and Chelsea fans regarding Mohammed Kudus, if it’s news they don’t want to hear they dismiss your news as unreliable.

“However, if you tell them what they want to hear your reliability goes back up. It’s very strange! Anyway in regards to the player Chelsea’s loss has been very much West Ham’s gain!”