Chelsea 'consider hijacking Tottenham transfer' with £25m discount and swap deal plan

Chelsea could reportedly hijack Tottenham's pursuit of Mohammed Kudus by negotiating a swap deal for the West Ham winger. The west Londoners have been among the Premier League's busiest clubs in the summer window, having already made a number of signings. Liam Delap, Estevao Willian, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez have all moved to Stamford Bridge since the end of last season.

Two more players are set to follow in the coming days, with Chelsea having agreed deals to sign Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens and Brighton striker Joao Pedro. The former will arrive in exchange for around £55million, while the latter will cost in the region of £60m. Chelsea have also been tipped to land Kudus despite the 24-year-old being heavily courted by Tottenham.

Bryan Mbeumo was initially earmarked as a target by Tottenham but the Brentford winger is now more likely to join Manchester United. As a result, the north Londoners are said to have turned their attention to Kudus, who has a release clause of £85m.

Chelsea, however, are yet to rule out a move of their own and could attempt to hijack the deal. They have already looked at the possibility of sending players to West Ham in return, according to the Daily Mail.

It is said that senior figures at the London Stadium are not interested in any of the trades which have been mooted so far. A swap deal might not even be necessary, given that West Ham are not demanding that Kudus' release clause be paid in full.

They are reportedly willing to listen to 'reasonable offers', suggesting Chelsea could negotiate a discount on the £85m figure written into the player's contract.

An offer in the region of £60m could be enough to tempt West Ham into doing business, according to The Guardian.

It is also claimed that Chelsea will likely need to make sales before pressing ahead with a move for Kudus. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga and Armando Broja are listed as 'obvious candidates' to move on.

Chelsea could also listen to offers for Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix, while Djordje Petrovic's future is uncertain after he was omitted from their Club World Cup squad.

Noni Madueke is said to be attracting interest from several other Premier League clubs, including the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle. Chelsea have no desire to let him leave, though, with Enzo Maresca a huge fan of the England winger.

Only time will tell if Chelsea manage to hijack Tottenham's move for Kudus, which would be a bitter blow for their London rivals. With over a month until the summer window slams shut, there is plenty of time for a deal of some kind to be arranged.

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