Chelsea's trump card to beat Arsenal to Kudus

Stuart Telford

• 23 Jul 2023 10:54 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea could have an ace in the hole when it comes to beating Arsenal to the signing of Ajax attacker Mohammed Kudus, with Hakim Ziyech possibly going the other way.

Kudus has emerged as a player of interest to the London clubs after hitting 18 goals and seven assists in all competitions for Ajax last season, despite being used in a variety of positions. He also had six goal-involvements in six Champions League games.

Barcelona and Brighton have also been credited with an interest in the Ghanaian, but Arsenal appeared to pull the front of the queue in recent weeks, with FootballTransfers' Dutch edition reporting that they could sell up to six players to fund a €40 million transfer.

READ: Arsenal to sell SIX players to fund Kudus transfer

Chelsea have already raised more than €200m with summer sales, meanwhile, but they might not need to dent that by much in signing Kudus if they use Ziyech as a makeweight.

Ziyech back to Ajax?

The Athletic's David Orstein reports that Kudus has already agreed terms with Chelsea, leaving a transfer fee all that's left to be negotiated between the clubs.

"Ziyech is likely to leave Chelsea this summer if he can find a new club," writes the Daily Express' Lewis Winter. "And he could well be tempted by a return to the team he enjoyed so much success at."

READ: Chelsea 'agreement close' with third attacking ace after Nkunku and Jackson

Ziyech previously spent four years at Ajax, winning the Dutch domestic treble in 2019 before joining Chelsea in a €40m deal the following summer, and he has also shown willing to leave Stamford Bridge of late.

Ziyech had agreed terms on a move to Paris Saint-Germain in January, but the Ligue 1 side tried to register his transfer minutes after the deadline and the move fell through. He has since been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, but has thus far turned down those advances.