Mohammed Kudus has enjoyed an excellent start to life in claret and blue following his £38million transfer to West Ham this summer, but it could have all been very different.
Indeed, the Ghanaian's agent, Jennifer Mendelewitsch, revealed on Thursday that the Hammers' London rivals Chelsea failed to sign Kudus ahead of West Ham making their move.
The 23-year-old midfielder enjoyed an excellent season with Dutch giants Ajax last year, with 18 goals and seven assists across all competitions that saw him linked with a move to the Premier League during the summer.
Brighton and Arsenal were both linked, with the former even reportedly agreeing an initial deal with Ajax for a move, but it seems Chelsea came closer to finalising a move before West Ham eventually stepped in.
In an interview with French publication RMC Sport, Mendelewitsch explained how Kudus' move to Stamford Bridge collapsed and how Moises Caicedo's £115million move from Brighton to Chelsea impacted it.
As quoted by the Metro, the West Ham star's agent said: "He [Kudus] wanted to leave, there weren’t 50,000 clubs who needed a midfielder and could afford him.
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"Obviously, we offered him his profile at PSG. Now, it’s the club’s choice not to not move forward. All clubs have the right to decide that they go to another profile or that it is not their priority."
"It’s a shame because I think Mohammed Kudus would have been a suitable profile," Mendelewitsch added. "We reached an agreement with Chelsea, we agreed contractually with Chelsea but the deal did not happen.
"He spoke with the coach [Pochettino] but in the end it didn’t happen. The truth is that they were completely taken by the transfer of [Moises] Caicedo which used all their energy. Then at a contractual level, it was a big contract but there is the other side of the coin which is these are such long contracts because of Financial Fair Play. But that’s not the choice the player made.
"I think that in any case, from a sporting point of view, it would’ve been complicated for him. The circumstances weren’t all right but when a club like Chelsea comes it’s hard to refuse."
West Ham have certainly benefitted from being able to close the deal for Kudus, with the exciting midfielder already scoring twice in his first eight games for the club.
That included an excellent late equaliser against Newcastle United last time out, with the Ghanaian smashing home his first Premier League goal in the 89th minute to earn his side a point.
