Exclusive: Arsenal like West Ham star but transfer might now be too expensive, says expert

Arsenal liked Mohammed Kudus while he was at Ajax but his superb form at West Ham United probably means he’s now too expensive for them, according to Charles Watts.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Watts explained that Kudus was looked at by Arsenal as he impressed in the Eredivisie, but the financial side of things meant they couldn’t get him in in a summer when they also signed big names like Declan Rice and Kai Havertz.

Kudus ended up moving to West Ham and certainly had a positive impact in his first season in the Premier League, so there’ll surely be a number of Arsenal fans wondering why they couldn’t get hold of the Ghana international.

Watts has suggested money was the main issue, and it would likely be a major issue again now as the 23-year-old has surely only shot up in value since impressing at the London Stadium.

Kudus transfer: Could Arsenal try again for the Ghana winger?

It is not clear if Arsenal are pursuing Kudus, but Watts expects this deal is now out of financial reach for the Gunners, perhaps even more so than before.

“Mohammed Kudus is another name that can join the quite lengthy ‘ones that got away’ list at Arsenal,” Watts said.

“He was a player they liked while he was at Ajax and they were well aware of his availability last summer. But they just did not have the financial capability to make it happen.

“They did some big business obviously, bringing in the likes of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz for big transfer fees and they were unable to bring much money in by selling some of the players they had earmarked for potential permanent exits. So they just didn’t have the financial wriggle room to do any more significant business in the market.

“Signing cover for the wide areas has long been on the agenda, we’ve seen that with the interest in Raphinha and Pedro Neto in the past, and Kudus was another player on that list. But they couldn’t stretch their budget, so their interest never really got off the ground.

“I don’t know if that interest still remains. Given the way he has performed since moving to West Ham since moving there, his price tag would be huge and I would be surprised if Arsenal were able to go near that given what they are looking to do with other areas of their squad.”