As revealed by The Athletic earlier this month, Ajax reached an agreement in principle with the Seagulls to sell Kudus for just under €40million (£34.5m). However, the deal stalled on the side of the player with Kudus’ entourage wanting to include a release clause, a desire not matched by Brighton, as per reports in the Dutch media.
That triple-figure proposal is yet to be matched or improved upon by Chelsea, although the plan is to do so very soon. In the meantime, Liverpool will take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with Ajax manager Maurice Steijn confirming that Kudus will also be in action this weekend despite the interest from London and agreement with Brighton.
“I can confirm that Kudus can play tomorrow,” he said in a press conference ahead of Ajax’s Eredivisie opener against Heracles Almelo. “There are things happening around him but nothing concrete happened in the end. I’m very happy that he’s with us tomorrow.”
Both Chelsea and Arsenal looked set to welcome new signings in the coming days with Tyler Adams to join the Blues and David Raya moving to the Gunners. The Brentford goalkeeper will arrive on an initial season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent, football.london understands.
The deal is set to be an initial loan with a £3m fee. This deal then includes a £27million option to buy for Arsenal if all parties find the move agreeable rather than an obligation. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s move for Adams appeared easy to complete with his £20million Leeds relegation clause, however that no longer looks the case.
Talks have broken down over Chelsea’s move for the USMNT star, football.london understands. The understandable complications of planning to spend over £100million for Caicedo looks to have had an impact on the move for Adams.
Michael Olise is also a target for Chelsea and they currently appear as frontrunners for his signature over Manchester City. A move for Kudus would help fill the positions Chelsea are looking to strengthen as he can be a creative influence and lively central midfielder and Ajax’s latest update certainly offers hope of them landing a move for the 23-year-old.
