Arsenal are lining up West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus as a £90million replacement for Saudi target Leandro Trossard.
The Gunners have a long-standing interest in Kudus and explored signing the Ghana star before he joined the Hammers from Ajax for around £40m in August last year. But Arsenal again have Kudus in their sights as Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad are eyeing a £40m deal for Trossard after failing to land the Belgian, 29, on an initial loan in a late summer move.
Kudus, 24, has been at the centre of controversy lately and is set to learn whether he faces further punishment for his sending-off in the Hammers’ 4-1 defeat at Tottenham two weeks ago.
Having opened the scoring, Kudus was red-carded late in the game after wildly clashing with Spurs defender Micky van de Ven, striker Richarlison and midfielder Pape Matar Sarr. The FA charged Kudus with violent conduct and acting in an improper manner for an incident “after the offence he was sent for’’, and he could be hit with an extension to his three-match ban.
The Ghanaian has however been in sensational form since arriving at the London Stadium. He has 16 goals and seven assists in 55 appearances in all competitions for West Ham.
Despite the Hammers not missing him too much in their victory over Manchester United last weekend, the same could not be said in their most recent outing. Julen Lopetegui’s men were comprehensively dismantled 3-0 by Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.
Kudus still has just under four years left to run on his contract with West Ham. Elsewhere, 39-time Belgian international Trossard has just 18 months remaining on his own deal with Arsenal.
The Belgian winger has been with Arsenal since January 2023 following a move from Brighton. He has made 80 appearances in all competitions since then, netting on 20 occasions.
The Gunners are not the only side to have allegedly expressed an interest in signing Kudus in the near future. Title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City have also been linked.
A £90m move would see Arsenal splash the cash once again under current boss Arteta. The Gunners signed Declan Rice – also from West Ham – last summer, while they also spent heavily to sign Kai Havertz from London rivals Chelsea in the same window.
