The mega money West Ham and Arsenal swap transfer deal which could supercharge both sides

Premier League heavyweights Arsenal are believed to be one of the leading contenders to sign West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus in the upcoming summer transfer window.

A report from talkSPORT explains that the Hammers are willing to listen to offers for Kudus to raise funds to replenish their squad after a hugely lacklustre first season without long-serving manager David Moyes. As it stands, Graham Potter, who inherited the post from Julen Lopetegui in December, has West Ham 17th in the table and has failed to deliver anything resembling a new manager bounce after winning just three of his first 16 games across all competitions.

Potter has credit in the bank from his successful stay at Brighton, but faces an uphill battle to redeem himself in the capital and bounce back from his previous troubled stint at Chelsea, which marked the club’s lowest league finish since 1994 before his eventual dismissal.

Kudus has been a far way from his best this season, with just four goals and two assists but remains a player that Mikel Arteta admires if reports are to be believed.

Why Arsenal are interested in Mohammed Kudus

Goals have been a problem for Arsenal throughout the season. While the absence of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus has been well documented throughout the past few months, the lack of an out-and-out striker isn’t the only problem that has damaged Arsenal’s title push this season.

Arsenal, particularly during Bukayo Saka’s absence at the start of the season, have simply not created enough chances throughout the campaign, with only Saka, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice exceeding five league assists this term. The Gunners have struggled to play the same free-flowing football that they managed during the past two seasons throughout this campaign, and at times have been far too reliant on scoring goals from set-pieces rather from open play.

This is epitomised by the fact that Mikel Arteta’s side have just 46 goals from open play (the fifth most in the league), which is a long way off the 63 that newly crowned champions Liverpool have managed. Last term, the Gunners managed 56 from open play while the year before they were only marginally below Manchester City with 66 over the course of the campaign.

In Kudus, Arsenal would potentially be getting a hold of someone that could fix that issue, due to the Ghanaian's tremendous pace, speed and technical ability. This season, despite having a poor campaign in terms of goals and assists, his underlying numbers suggest it’s partly down to those around him, with Kudus completing 15 take-ons leading to shot attempts (the eighth most in the division) while the previous season he topped the charts with 25, while also backing that up with the second eight goals and six assists, according to statistics from FBref.

The 24-year-old has a release clause of around £85m inserted into his contract, and while it’s unlikely Arsenal will pay that sort of figure, it is highly probable that the north London outfit will come forward with some kind of offer.

The intriguing swap deal West Ham could look to strike

West Ham’s main problem this season has been conceding goals, with only Wolves and the three relegated teams leaking more than the team’s 59 this season.

Clearly, it’s an area that needs strengthening if the club are to push for Europe and with that in mind, it could make sense for the Hammers to push for a move to sign Jakub Kiwior. The Poland international has only just broke into the Arsenal team due to an injury to Gabriel, but hasn’t looked out of place since being handed the opportunity, with 26 appearances across all competitions, including two of high calibre in a two-legged Champions League victory over Real Madrid.

With the World Cup on the horizon, Kiwior will want to be a regular for his country by next summer, and West Ham could be the perfect club to offer him that opportunity with chances potentially being limited by the return of Gabriel and a potential move for Dean Huijsen of Bournemouth, via Football Insider.

With that in mind, West Ham could look to try and get a figure of around £40m for Kudus while also signing Kiwior, who moved to Arsenal in 2022 for £20m as a makeweight in the deal.

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