Chelsea are one of “only three or four clubs” who could afford to sign Mohammed Kudus next summer, according to former West Ham scout Mick Brown.

An £85m release clause will become active at the end of the season but Brown says he can’t see many teams paying that sort of money for the Ghanaian international:

“You look around and you can’t see anybody who’s going to pay £85million for him. Man City have got enough wide players already, Liverpool won’t be able to afford it, where would he fit in the Arsenal team? Where does he go in the Chelsea team? Madueke is doing very well and improving, Cole Palmer is one of the best players in the league at the moment, they’ve got another load of wide players who don’t get near the team.”

“You never know with Chelsea, though. We’ll see what happens with them. I’ve been told there are a lot of teams who want to sign Kudus from West Ham, and there are only three or four clubs who could maybe afford that price. But then you look at what they’ve already got, and they don’t need him.”

No one made a move for Kudus in the last transfer window

It should be pointed out that the forward had a similar release clause active last summer, but no team decided to activate it.

At the time, fans were relieved that West Ham’s rivals did not pay the requisite fee for one of their key players.

The West Ham forward needs to focus on his form

Another factor that may make interested clubs think twice about spending money on Kudus is his rather poor start to the season.

Manager Julen Lopetegui controversially substituted him at half-time against Brentford, leading to an exchange of words between the two. However, he did respond in the right fashion, getting his first goal of the season versus Ipswich at the weekend.

Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here