'Looking to leave' - Arsenal and Liverpool £85m transfer gathers pace as West Ham star's stance emerges
The West Ham forward is reportedly ready to quit the London Stadium after little over a year with the club.
West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus reportedly wants to leave the club next summer amid talk of transfer interest from Arsenal and Liverpool according to a new report from Sky Sports reporter Sacha Tavolieri.
The journalist claims that while Kudus has kept his head down and worked on his transition to the Premier League since arriving from Ajax for £38 million last year, his ambitions to 'evolve to the highest level' have never disappeared. The report adds that Kudus is 'therefore looking to leave' the London Stadium as the club struggles for form under new manager Julen Lopetegui.
Liverpool, who could be without Mohammed Salah next season, and Arsenal have been hotly linked with interest in the 24-year-old who has bagged 10 Premier League goals since moving to the top flight. According to Football Insider, West Ham won't stand in the way of any potential summer exit either.
However, that's only if the Gunners or the Reds meet the £85 million release clause that exists in Kudus' contract. While that is a steep fee to cough up for the rising star, the Hammers' stance combined with Kudus' desire to leave does accelerate the ever-growing transfer rumours.
It's been a tough start to the season for Kudus under Lopetegui. It took the player six league fixtures to find his first goal of the campaign and, having then netted in a second consecutive match against Manchester United, he picked up a red card against Tottenham Hotspur.
That three-match ban was then extended to five games after admitting a violent conduct charge. Kudus was also fined £60,000.
Lopetegui critical of Kudus
Lopetegui was critical of the winger for that moment, his suspension coming at a difficult time for the Hammers when they needed the mercurial forward the most. The Spaniard said: "Unfortunately Kudus is going to be out for three matches because his behaviour was not good and he knows that.
“He knows he has to improve because this can't happen. I hope it's the last time this happens. I'm sure it is not going to happen [again].
"I talked with him and sometimes you don't have to talk a lot about this kind of situation because he knows it was a mistake. I say, for sure, that he will learn about this incident and his behaviour will handle this better in the future."