‘Tottenham and West Ham in public feud over Kudus deal – Levy could not resist’
Tottenham and West Ham have entered into a public battle over the transfer of Mohammed Kudus.
Last week (2 July), Football Insider revealed that Spurs’ initial bid of £50million for Kudus had been rejected by the Hammers.
However, Thomas Frank’s side went back in with a £55m offer for the 24-year-old, and West Ham accepted the approach on Wednesday (9 July).
The Ghanaian is now set to have a medical at Tottenham, before signing a long-term contract with the North London side.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that neither Daniel Levy nor David Sullivan could resist a public battle.
Daniel Levy v David Sullivan was ‘like a boxing match‘
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the negotiations over the Kudus deal were “like a boxing match”.
The Ghana international had an £80m release clause in his West Ham contract, but the Hammers were willing to accept offers below that figure.
Wyness added that the sticking point in the transfer was originally add-ons, but that problem has been resolved quickly.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “This was like a boxing match with David Sullivan against Daniel Levy, two of the great characters of London football. A negotiation between both of them, I only wish that could be on pay-per-view. I would pay for that. That would be great to see.
“Somebody said £50m, and somebody said, we want £60m. That is a gap that has been bridged very easily. It was a case of what the add-ons were.
“As I understand it, Spurs had offered cup bonuses. I think West Ham wanted league position bonuses or appearance bonuses. That has been resolved quickly, but both Sullivan and Daniel could not resist some sort of public battle.
“Probably West Ham, more than anybody, are going to be feeding it to the media, but it’s just a classic bit of North London banter.
“Now it’s done and I think Kudus will be off to Spurs.”
‘Yves Bissouma wants to finalise move away from Tottenham’
Meanwhile, Yves Bissouma is reportedly interested in a move to Juventus this summer as he edges closer to leaving Tottenham.
That is according to former Spurs scout Mick Brown, who claims that the 28-year-old is not part of Thomas Frank’s plans for the upcoming season.
As a result, his agent has been working to drum up interest in a move and Spurs are planning to raise money from his sale before the window closes.
Football Insider revealed in May that Tottenham are open to offers for Bissouma with a number of clubs keeping an eye on his situation in North London.
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