Everton in late bid for future star Mohammed Kudus with over £15million on the table
Ajax have rejected the late attempt from Everton to sign attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus before the transfer deadline, Miguel Delaney reports.
The Toffees thought they were on the brink of a deal for the Ghanaian international in recent weeks, who was keen on leaving the Dutch giants for more game time ahead of the World Cup.
But a u-turn in Amsterdam has put an end to those hopes with Ajax turning down an offer from Goodison of £15million plus add-ons.
There has been a late run on players from the Johan Cruyff Arena, with Antony moving to Manchester United for €100million, and Chelsea trying to sign Edson Alvarez, who like Kudus looks like being kept past the close of the window.
Delaney says in his Independent story that Ajax believe Kudus will become “one of the best midfielders in the world” soon so will be worth far more than what the Toffees are currently offering.
Personal terms had apparently been agreed for a move to Goodison but the deal appears to have been blocked.
Frustration
Ajax are going to have a lot of man management to do when the window closes with Kudus and Alvarez both apparently striking to try to force through deals.
Antony had been successful with a similar manoeuvre but it looks like the other two will be kept in the Eredivisie despite their wishes.
The player will therefore be highly frustrated by the rejection of the bid from Everton, and it will be particularly irritating for the club that they were apparently on the verge of a deal around two weeks before the deadline.
At the time it seems that the Dutch side were not aware of how much interest there was in their player and started dragging their feet.
That dragging then allowed the nightmare start to the season at Old Trafford to manifest in a colossal bid for Antony late in the window, which in turn has given Alfred Schreuder and the decision-makers at Ajax cold feet on further departures.
They will have to start giving Kudus more than a handful of minutes in late substitute appearances though or the massive appreciation in value they now apparently have eyes for won’t actually materialise.