The Athletic detail why Chelsea missed out on player to rival club despite agreeing personal terms | OneFootball

Chelsea agreed personal terms with Mohammed Kudus and planned to sign him early for the Club World Cup, but their player plus cash deal was rejected according to The Athletic.

The Blues had a busy summer in which they made six signings, five of which were attackers as the frontline underwent a major overhaul.

Joao Pedro has made the biggest impact, whilst Argentine duo Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte could make their debut against Brentford on Saturday.

Chelsea agreed personal terms with Mohammed Kudus

Whilst Chelsea are happy with their business and have added some top quality attacking players to their squad it could have been different.

Chelsea were linked with Kudus earlier this summer, and reportedly had a player plus cash deal rejected by West Ham for the Ghana international.

Kudus swapped West Ham for Tottenham despite interest from Chelsea. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

The Blues didn’t return with a straight cash offer for Kudus and he ended up joining rivals Tottenham instead in a deal worth £55m.

However, things could have been different, and The Athletic have reported the Blues had agreed personal terms with Kudus.

The report adds Chelsea planned to sign him early for the Club World Cup, but their offer of £40m plus Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was rejected.

Chelsea seemingly then switched their attention to Xavi Simons, but despite strong interest the Blues never made an offer and he too ended up at Tottenham.

Chelsea nearly signed Ghana international in 2023

This wasn’t the first time Chelsea were close to signing Kudus, and they also agreed terms with him when he was at Ajax in 2023.

More Stories / Latest News

The Athletic detail why Chelsea missed out on player to rival club despite agreeing personal terms

13th Sep 2025, 01:30pm

Report: Chelsea one of seven clubs who enquired about Barcelona star who wasn’t Fermin Lopez

13th Sep 2025, 01:00pm

Report: Chelsea add player they believe can transform their squad to list of transfer targets

13th Sep 2025, 10:15am

Chelsea’s offer wasn’t deemed good enough by Ajax, and Kudus instead ended up joining West Ham, where he had a successful first season.

It wasn’t all a disaster for Chelsea as they ended up signing Cole Palmer that summer, but this is now two occasions in which a deal for Kudus has been so close yet so far.