Post: Chelsea does not rule out signing Kudus, West Ham does not demand a full termination fee of 85 million pounds

Sports     4:58am, 1 July 2025
The Post reported that although Chelsea will spend more than £100 million to sign Joao Pedro and Gittens, they did not rule out the possibility of introducing West Ham's Ghanaian player Kudus.

Tottenham Hotspur is also interested in the 24-year-old. However, Chelsea may need to sell some players before making the deal, as West Ham hopes to use the funds to support its summer signings. Chelsea had considered sending some players to West Ham in exchange, but according to sources, West Ham is not interested in the current exchange plan.

Kudus's termination fee is 85 million pounds for Premier League clubs, while Saudi teams need to pay 125 million pounds. However, West Ham did not insist on a full termination fee, and they were willing to hear more reasonable offers. Manchester United and Newcastle also expressed interest in Kudus. Chelsea have agreed with Brighton and Dortmund on transfer fees for Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens, each of which is about £55 million, and signed Drapp from Ipswich for £30 million. In addition, Frankfurt's Ekitic is also one of the important goals of the Blues this summer.

23-year-old Brazilian forward Joao Pedro flew from Brazil to the United States on Sunday night to meet with his new teammates and undergo a physical examination, preparing to sign the contract officially. It is not clear which players Chelsea will sell this summer. In addition to obvious candidates such as Sterling, Chilville, DiSassi, Renato Vega and Bloa, Nkunku and Felix may also be sold, while goalkeeper Djord Petrovic, who was loaned to Strasbourg last season, did not go to the United States to compete in the FFC World Cup with the team. England winger Maduaike has attracted the interest of Newcastle and Arsenal.