West Ham's second Mohammed Kudus offer rejected by Ajax

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West Ham's second Mohammed Kudus offer rejected by Ajax

West Ham United's second offer for Ajax forward Mohammed Kudus has been rejected, sources have confirmed to 90min.

The Hammers are looking to strengthen David Moyes' forward options and have been pursuing a deal for Kudus for a number of weeks, even sending technical director Tim Steidten to Amsterdam to handle negotiations in person.

An initial offer of €40m (£34m) was rejected by Ajax on Saturday evening, with the Dutch giants indicating that they wanted to receive additional money from West Ham in the form of performance related add-ons.

But West Ham's revised offer has also been turned down by Ajax, who 90min understands are now looking for a figure closer to €50m (£42.5m), and talks will continue between the two parties in the hope of finding a resolution.

Brighton & Hove Albion had a bid for Kudus accepted by Ajax earlier this summer, but even though Roberto De Zerbi's side can offer Europa League football like West Ham, they were unable to come to an agreement over personal terms.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have also shown interest in Kudus at one time or another, with Erik ten Hag particularly keen to reunite with a player he worked closely with during his time as Ajax manager.

90min further understands that West Ham are yet to agree personal terms with Kudus, leaving the door open for other interested parties to swoop in with an offer before the transfer window slams shut on September 1.

West Ham have money to spend after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal this summer in a deal worth £105m, and have already drafted in Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse. Both players made their debut in Sunday's 3-1 win over Chelsea at London Stadium, with former Southampton skipper Ward-Prowse impressing with two assists for Nayef Aguerd and Michail Antonio.

Centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos has also put pen to paper on a five-year contract after finalising a move from VfB Stuttgart. The 25-year-old is expected to cost in the region of £17m, with the deal potentially rising to £21.5m if all the add-ons included are fulfilled.