Brighton & Hove Albion have reportedly joined a number of Premier League and European teams vying for the services of Ghana forward Mohammed Kudus.
The 22-year-old has played for the Dutch powerhouses Ajax Amsterdam for the previous three years, but during the 2022/23 season, he improved even further, making 42 appearances across all competitions while tallying 18 goals and six assists.
Kudus scored four goals in six group-stage matches in the Champions League and 11 goals in 30 Eredivisie games. The Ghanaian international also contributed two goals in three games for his country at the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Kudus still has two years left on his Ajax contract, but it is commonly believed that the attacker would quit the Dutch team before the 2023/24 season after they missed out on Champions League qualification.
His agent Jennifer Mendelewitsch hinted last month that a lucrative exit may be in the works this summer, saying it is “the right time” for the attacker to go for greener pastures.
A number of English teams, notably Manchester United, led by former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, are reportedly interested in signing Kudus, who is reportedly eager to play in the Premier League.
Along with Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Borussia Dortmund, other teams have been said to be interested, including Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
Now journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims that Brighton are the most recent team to indicate a “concrete” interest in Kudus.
Romano continues, saying that Kudus is one of the Seagulls’ top targets this summer, despite reports that a prospective transfer to the Amex Stadium is “not an easy deal” to accomplish.
Understand Mohammed Kudus is one of the top targets for Brighton this summer. He’s in the list, the interest is concrete. 🚨🔵 #BHAFC
Not an easy deal but Brighton like Kudus — no concrete talks with Chelsea.
Brighton have not opened talks for Koopmeiners at this stage. pic.twitter.com/9Qka5e46cE
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 24, 2023
Meanwhile, Chelsea are believed to have identified Kudus as a possible replacement for Arsenal-bound Kai Havertz, but Romano asserts that the Blues have yet to engage in formal discussions to sign the attacker.
Kudus started his first two seasons at Ajax as an advanced midfielder, but in the 2022/23 campaign, he was pushed farther forward and mostly played as a false number 9 or on the right wing.
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi appears to be drawn to the Ghanaian’s flexibility as he looks to improve on his team’s sixth-place Premier League finish from the previous season and strengthen his lineup in preparation for the club’s first-ever campaign in the Europa League group stage.
