West Ham United 'closing in on Mohammed Kudus agreement'

After experiencing a sluggish start to the window, West Ham got their transfer business up and running with the additions of Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse.

On Tuesday, Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos was unveiled as West Ham's third signing of the summer, arriving in the English capital from Stuttgart in an initial £17m deal.

The Hammers now turned their attention to Kudus as they look to bring in further reinforcements before the transfer window closes on September 1.

Ajax have been reluctant to sanction the Ghanian's departure, having already sold Alvarez to West Ham and seen the likes of Jurrien Timber, Calvin Bassey and Dusan Tadic head out the exit door.

As a result, West Ham have already seen two bids rejected for the 23-year-old, who has two years left to run on his Ajax contract.

Despite being met with resistance, the Hammers have been unwilling to give up in their pursuit, and it appears that their persistence may have finally paid off.

According to Sky Sports News, West Ham are now close to reaching an agreement with Ajax over a transfer for Kudus.

The report claims that the two clubs are in negotiations over a deal worth an initial €41.5m (£35.4m), plus €3m (£2.56m) in performance-related add-ons.

Having spent the last three years in the Netherlands, Kudus is believed to be open to the prospect of joining David Moyes's side.

Should the deal go through, Kudus is expected to put pen to paper on a five-year deal with an option for West Ham to extend by a further 12 months.

The versatile attacker has made an impressive start to the 2023-24 campaign, scoring in a 4-1 victory over Heracles before registering an assist in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Excelsior.

While West Ham are pushing to sign Kudus, they are reportedly showing an interest in Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri.

They are believed to be lining up an offer for the Morocco international, who is under contract with Sevilla until June 2025.