A former West Ham United chief has suggested that Chelsea could move for a star in Julen Lopetegui’s squad, with clubs apparently interested and regularly watching him at the London Stadium.
West Ham seal first victory since August with 4-1 win over Ipswich
Lopetegui can breathe a big sigh of relief after West Ham sealed their first win of the Premier League season since August on the weekend against Ipswich Town.
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The home side started as they meant to go on, with striker Michail Antonio gifting West Ham a very early lead in the first minute. Liam Delap equalised for Ipswich minutes later in a brief scare for the east Londoners, before star winger Mohammed Kudus restored their advantage moments before half-time.
Forward Jarrod Bowen then gave West Ham a two-goal lead just after the restart, handing Lopetegui’s men some much-needed breathing room to ease the tension, with Lucas Paqueta sealing all three points 20 minutes from full-time.
Match
Date
Opponent
Competition
Result
#9
05/10/2024
Ipswich (H)
Premier League
4-1 win
#8
28/09/2024
Brentford (A)
Premier League
1-1 draw
#7
25/09/2024
Liverpool (A)
Carabao Cup
5-1 loss
#6
21/09/2024
Chelsea (H)
Premier League
3-0 loss
#5
14/09/2024
Fulham (A)
Premier League
1-1 draw
#4
31/08/2024
Man City (H)
Premier League
3-1 loss
#3
28/08/2024
Bournemouth (H)
Carabao Cup
1-0 win
#2
24/08/2024
Crystal Palace (A)
Premier League
2-0 win
#1
17/08/2024
Aston Villa (H)
Premier League
2-1 loss
West Ham’s first Premier League win since their 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace in the summer was a much-needed one, with some believing beforehand that Lopetegui was at risk of losing his job if the club’s lacklustre form continued.
As well as in an attacking sense, the Irons were far better defensively, with Jean-Clair Todibo putting in an 8/10 performance against Ipswich as the Frenchman begins to form a solid partnership with Max Kilman.
Kudus’ display attracted real attention too, with the Ghanian getting on the scoresheet, completing 93% of his passes and attempting five shots on goal in what was a very threatening display (WhoScored).
Ex-West Ham chief suggests Chelsea could move for Kudus
The 24-year-old is one of Lopetegui’s best players, and has been key to West Ham since he joined the club from Ajax for £38 million last summer. This has led to reports that elite clubs could attempt to poach him, with Chelsea showing a reported interest in Kudus at various points.
Speaking to Football Insider, former West Ham recruitment employee Mick Brown, who remains well-connected at the club after leaving his post in June, has suggested that Chelsea could still move to sign Kudus – even if they don’t need him – and says that he knows clubs are interested and watching him.
“I know other clubs are interested and have been watching him,” said Brown.
“But I’ve seen an £85million release clause mentioned, I’ve heard that could put some of the interested clubs off of a move. It would have to be a situation where he wants to leave the club, but then 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.”