Chelsea turn attention to Ajax midfield maestro with £40m price tag to fix midfield problems

Chelsea are pushing on to sign Ajax and Ghana midfielder Mohammed Kudus this summer as they look to add quality, bite and energy to their midfield.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have seen the departure of Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount while N’Golo Kante left for Saudi Arabia despite coming close to signing a new deal.

Kudus was the shining light for Ghana at the World Cup, scoring two goals. He has been going from strength to strength since he joined the Dutch side from Nordsjaelland, scoring 16 league goals in 63 appearances for the club.

Blessed with energy, technique and an unbelievable desire, the 22-year-old has climbed high on the Chelsea list in the last two weeks with reports that the club is close to agreeing personal terms.

LondonWorld sources say he alongside Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki of Lyon are huge possibility to arrive in west London before the transfer window closes.

The Blues have made Moises Caicedo their prime summer transfer target but talks have slowed down between Chelsea and Brighton due to their asking price of £100million and the insistence that highly-rated defender Levi Colwill is added to the deal, something Chelsea is not willing to entertain.

Chelsea are yet to bring in midfield enforcement but are expected to do so once the sale of Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech. The expectations are that the floodgate will then be opened for the likes of Kudus to move in after the duo depart.

Having began his career in Ghana- Kudus is seen as an emerging star in European football and fits the bill of young and skilled players Chelsea are looking to build on for the long term.

The Blues finished a disappointing 12th in the league table last year despite splashing around £600miilion in the last two transfer window. This summer the new approach has seen almost 12 players say goodbye to the club as they look to reverse the tide and build a club that can take care of itself.