Chelsea 'ahead of Arsenal in race to sign Mohammed Kudus'

Chelsea are reportedly ahead of Arsenal in the race to sign Ajax attacker Mohammed Kudus during this summer's transfer window.

The 22-year-old was in impressive form for his Dutch club during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 18 goals and registering seven assists in 42 appearances in all competitions.

Kudus netted 11 goals and registered four assists in 30 Eredivisie matches, while he made a strong impression in the Champions League, contributing four goals and two assists in the group stage of the 2022-23 competition.

The Ghana international has another two years left to run on his contract, but Ajax are unlikely to be able to keep hold of him this summer due to the growing interest.

A recent report claimed that Manchester United had identified Kudus as a potential alternative to Atalanta BC forward Rasmus Hojlund.

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Kudus is well-known to Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag due to their time together at Ajax, but Man United's main focus at this moment in time is on Hojlund, who is also being heavily linked with Paris Saint-Germain.

According to The Independent, the strongest interest in Kudus is arriving from London, with Chelsea and Arsenal both keen to secure his services.

The report claims that the Blues are currently at the head of the queue, with Mauricio Pochettino's side offering a better financial package.

Chelsea are believed to be willing to pay around £40m for Kudus, who is capable of operating in a number of different positions in the final third of the field.

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Arsenal are allegedly not in a position at this moment to add another player to their squad, having already spent huge money on Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice this summer.

The North London club's head coach Mikel Arteta has admitted that the size of his squad is "unsustainable", with players needing to leave before any others can arrive.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have been able to move a number of players on this summer, with Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ethan Ampadu, N'Golo Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Baba Rahman all departing.

Arsenal will be in the Champions League next season, though, which is not the case for Chelsea, as a disastrous 2022-23 campaign saw them finish down in 12th position in the Premier League.

Kudus, who scored twice for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is thought to favour a move to the Premier League over any other division this summer.