West Ham prepare to sell £50m key man as Chelsea eye surprising Brighton swoop

Welcome to Wednesday’s round-up of the juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours that we’ve seen doing the media rounds over the past 24 hours – today, we’re going to dive straight into things with a story which might worry West Ham fans…

According to TBR Football, the Hammers are sufficiently concerned about their position in relation to the league’s profit and sustainability rules that they’ve ready to sell star winger Mohammed Kudus – and for far less than his release clause might suggest.

Kudus is believed to have an £80m release clause in his contract, but West Ham could sell him for as little as £50m, according to this article, which is how much clubs from England and across Europe (perhaps including Arsenal, Liverpool or Newcastle) might pay.

A move to the Saudi Pro League has come up in the rumour columns more regularly, however, and Kudus is said to be “open” to such a move should an offer arrive. The good news for West Ham fans is that while they may only make a profit of £10m or so on Kudus, the club are “refusing to even consider” the sale of Jarrod Bowen.

The 3AM Verdict: The stories suggesting that Kudus could be on his way out are mounting, and we may now be getting a more realistic price range for a player who hasn’t hit his straps in his second season at the London Stadium. £50m is probably a fair price, and we think a Saudi move looks pretty likely as it stands.

Chelsea eyeing up another Brighton bid

Over to Sport Witness, now, who have some thoughts on a story which seems to have started with Florian Plettenberg and which alleges that Chelsea are “closely monitoring” Brighton attacking midfielder Georginio Rutter.

The Frenchman only moved to the Amex Stadium from Leeds last summer, he’s now said to be “one to watch” for a move to Stamford Bridge, where a new number ten could be required if Christopher Nkunku leaves. No transfer fee is suggested but Chelsea certainly have a long track record of paying top dollar for Brighton players – still, Sport Witness are sceptical, describing the story as “a little weak”.

The 3AM Verdict: The article openly wonders if this is an agent driving up some hype rather than a ‘real’ rumour, and we share that cynicism. Rutter was sublime in the second tier and has had a pretty decent first season in the Premier League, but hasn’t shone to the extent that you would expect him to catch Chelsea’s magpie-like eyes. We’ll see.

Newcastle want ‘one of the best young goalkeepers in the world’

For the last few months, one of the most persistent transfer rumours out there has been the link between Newcastle United and Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford – but with other clubs also keen on the shot-stopper, it looks like Newcastle are working on a Plan B.

GiveMeSport claim that Newcastle are keeping tabs on “one of the best young goalkeepers in the world”, Angers’ 24-year-old star Yahia Fofana, who helpfully has just a year left on his contract with the Ligue 1 club and could well be on the move.

Profit and sustainability concerns may also drive Newcastle towards a slightly cheaper alternative, and the 6’4” Ivory Coast international appears to have caught their eye. No word on how much he might cost, but he would surely be cheaper than Trafford, who is supposedly worth around £30m.

The 3AM Verdict: We doubt this one for a very simple reason – although Fofana is indeed a first-class shot stopper, he isn’t much of a sweeper-keeper and isn’t that comfortable operating outside of his area behind a high line. Eddie Howe’s style of play seems to suggest that Fofana, for all his quality, would be a poor fit.