Chelsea could be set to secure yet another summer signing as Mauricio Pochettino aims to strengthen his side ahead of the 2023/24 season.
What's the latest on Kudus to Chelsea?
The Stamford Bridge side have been linked recently with a move for Ajax starlet, Mohammed Kudus as Pochettino aims to bolster his attacking options, and new a development has occurred with regard to a potential move.
Journalist Rudy Galetti tweeted: “#Chelsea had first contacts with #Ajax for Mohammed #Kudus.
“Understand that #CFC have verbally agreed the personal terms with the Ghanaian player: now it’s up to clubs to find an agreement.
“Other 2 English teams have showed a concrete interest in him: evolving situation.”
It would be a major statement of intent should they lure the youngster away from Ajax to England, especially considering teams such as Manchester United and Arsenal are showing interest and they have Champions League football to look forward to next term.
The 22-year-old will only cost the Blues around £40m, which given their recent extravagant activity in the transfer market, it could be a bargain.
Could Mohammed Kudus replace Mason Mount?
Attacking midfielder Mason Mount departed Chelsea this summer, joining Manchester United in a deal which could be worth £60m, becoming one of the several players to leave the club.
Since making his debut under Frank Lampard back in 2019, Mount made nearly 200 appearances for the Blues and registered 70 goal contributions in that time period, a solid return.
Last season featured just three goals and six assists across 35 games and with one year left on his deal, Chelsea clearly felt £60m was a decent enough figure to let him depart.
Kudus has all the attributes to replace Mount in the Chelsea squad, and given that he is younger, he has the potential to surpass his achievements.
The Ajax starlet was among one of the finest attacking midfielders when compared to his positional peers over the previous 365 days, ranking in the top 2% for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.55), top 1% for successful take ons per 90 (4.57) and top 4% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 (6.27) and this clearly indicates that he is a major threat in the opposition penalty area.
In comparison, Mount registered just 0.13 non-penalty goals, 0.86 successful take ons and 3.32 touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 during the same period, suggesting that Kudus could even be a major upgrade on the Englishman.
Not only did Kudus register six goal contributions in the Champions League last season – four goals and two assists – but he demonstrated his attacking qualities on the biggest stage of them all – the World Cup.
He scored twice in the competition while also succeeding with 3.3 dribbles per game – a success rate of 71% – and the youngster ranked first across the whole Ghana squad for these metrics. It wasn’t enough to prevent them from falling at the first hurdle, however, the world got a glimpse of his outstanding talents.
It’s no wonder that talent scout Jacek Kulig lauded the player as “electric” and should he carry on the form which saw him explode in the Champions League and the World Cup, he could be a stunning success at Chelsea as the man to replace Mount.
