West Ham United remain in talks to sign Mohammed Kudus, despite having two bids rejected for the Ajax midfielder, and are also hoping to sign Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri.
The east London club are working hard to strengthen their attacking options in the final days of the transfer window and are keen to add both Kudus and En-Nesyri to their squad.
Their second bid for Kudus, worth in the region of around £35 million, was turned down by Ajax earlier this week but negotiations are still ongoing between the two clubs.
Kudus appeared to be close to joining Brighton earlier this summer but the move stalled due to issues with the player’s personal terms.
A Ghana international, who can play on the wing or as an attacking midfielder, Kudus is regarded as one of the European game’s most exciting young talents. The 23-year-old scored 18 goals in 42 appearances for Ajax last season and has also been the subject of interest from Chelsea this summer.
En-Nesyri has been a long-term target for West Ham, who first tried to sign the striker in January 2021.
It is believed that Sevilla could be open to selling the 26-year-old, who starred for Morocco in last year’s World Cup and struck 18 goals in 48 appearances for Sevilla last season.
En-Nesyri scored with a towering header against Manchester City in last week’s Uefa Super Cup and also headed a memorable winner against Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar. He is reported to have jumped to a height of 2.78 metres (9.1ft) to score the goal against Portugal.
If a deal can be agreed with Sevilla, En-Nesyri would help to fill the void left by the departure from West Ham of Gianluca Scamacca, who joined Atalanta for around £20 million only a year after arriving in the Premier League.
After selling Declan Rice to Arsenal in a deal that could be worth £105 million, West Ham have so far invested around £85 million in three new signings: Edson Álvarez from Ajax (£35 million), James Ward-Prowse from Southampton (£30 million) and Konstantinos Mavropanos from Stuttgart (around £20 million).
Mavropanos previously played for Arsenal in the Premier League and it is understood that the north London club will receive around 10 per cent of the fee paid by West Ham to Stuttgart.
