Manchester United 'make contact over Mohammed Kudus move'

The Red Devils will be in the market for at least one new forward at the end of the season, while it is entirely possible that two could arrive, as Anthony Martial may be allowed to depart.

Wout Weghorst, as it stands, is due to return to parent club Burnley this summer, which would leave Man United seriously short of senior options in the final third of the field.

Kudus is familiar to Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag due to their time together at Ajax, and the Ghana international has been strongly linked with a switch to Old Trafford over the last few months.

According to Football Insider, Man United have now been in touch with Kudus's representatives to discuss the forward moving to the Premier League giants ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

The report claims that the deal for the 22-year-old could be around £48m, and the player has already expressed a desire to reunite with Ten Hag in Manchester.

Kudus came close to joining Everton last summer, only for the deal to break down at the final moment.

"I was really close to joining Everton. I thought it was a good project for me and I felt I should try it. It wasn't like this season was my first (at Ajax), it was my third," he told Star Connect on Joy TV.

Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have also been credited with an interest, while Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff recently confirmed that the club were monitoring his progress.

"We've been tracking Mohammed Kudus for more than one year. We can't say now that Barca want Kudus... but he's attracting interest," Cruyff told RAC1. "He's scoring goals and in Holland, they discuss a lot about his position, so yes - I know him well."

Kudus has been in strong form for Ajax during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 16 goals and registering four assists in 33 appearances in all competitions.

Meanwhile, the forward was in action for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup, scoring twice in the group stage of the competition against South Korea.

Ajax are in a relatively strong position when it comes to Kudus's future, with his contract having more than two years left to run, but the Dutch giants were unable to prevent Lisandro Martinez or Antony from departing last year for Man United.

Kudus has largely played as a centre-forward this season, but he is also capable of operating as a number 10 and a right-sided attacker.

The size of Man United's summer transfer budget remains unclear at this stage of proceedings, with the club currently in takeover talks.