The World Cup is a stage that can turn any player into a star in the space of seven games or less, and while Mohammed Kudus has been in excellent form for Ajax this season, the Ghanaian forward has been strutting his stuff with the eyes of the world on him.
Kudus has been linked with a move to Liverpool by Fabrizio Romano in recent days, whom he played against in the Champions League earlier this season.
His brace against South Korea caught the imagination though, and more rumours of interested parties have followed. As per Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are one of them. Sporting Director Jordi Cruyff, who naturally has a connection to Ajax, is reportedly a big fan of his.
Meanwhile Real Madrid had him in their clutches. As per El Nacional, recruitment chief Juni Calafat had a deal for Kudus tied up two years ago, but the deal was vetoed. Manager at the time Zinedine Zidane considered that Kudus would be surplus to requirements, as he had sufficient central midfielders.
No doubt Kudus’ price tag has grown significantly since then. Ajax have shown they are willing to hold out for exorbitant fees, as was the case with Antony last summer. It seems unlikely Barcelona would allocate their limited resources to Kudus, given their strength up front currently. Real Madrid might be more likely to do so, as he could be a versatile young option, especially if Marco Asensio leaves the club in the summer.
“Manager at the time Zinedine Zidane considered that Kudus would be surplus to requirements, as he had sufficient central midfielders.”
We have all seen the consequences of Zidanes activities in the transfer market.
The man had zero clue about buying and selling players.
I shake my head every time I think about his failures in development and recruitment/sales.
Is it a coincidence Vini broke out after Carlo came? I think not.