£60m price set for easy Nkunku upgrade from Premier League rivals | OneFootball

Chelsea dug their heels in in the race for Champions League football yesterday with an important win over Fulham, keeping the Blues alive in the race for Europe’s top competition.

Making it (or not) will have a huge influence both on their summer budget and on the sort of players who they may be looking to sign. Today we’ve heard a new name suggested in connection with a summer move, but it’s hard to see us bringing him in without being able to offer him European football at a new level.

Mohammed Kudus is a player we were linked to a lot when he was at Ajax, but ultimately didn’t move for. He went to West Ham, where he had a brilliant start and made us all regret that Chelsea hadn’t been more decisive, before his form started to fade (along with the rest of their team) this season.

According to CaughtOffside, we could be back in the mix for the Ghana star. They say that Kudus – who cost West Ham £48m. could be available for less than his release clause of £85m. The Hammers would apparently consider bids around £60m, which is much more manageable.

Kudus could be a far more effective Nkunku replacement

Still just 24, Kudus has plenty of upside, and we can see him being a really smart signing if we snag him at the right price. There’s not currently an obvious space for him in the squad, but if we’re able to move on Christopher Nkunku in the summer, that frees up some budget and a perfect space in the squad for Kudus, who would bring far more to the table than a disinterested Nkunku.

Kudus has all the same technical magic but with much more physical presence and pressing ability, and we think Enzo Maresca would love to work with him.