West Ham hit gold on star who’s worth more than Duran & Mazraoui combined

With over a month still to go in the summer transfer window, West Ham United supporters must be pretty happy with their outfit’s ambition, having provided new head coach Julen Loeptegui with the tools to succeed.

Yet to part with any of last season’s first-team regulars, West Ham have signed talented Brazilian winger Luis Guilherme, 18, from Palmeiras and have strengthened at the back with Max Kilman, who played under Lopetegui at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Uncertainty around Lucas Paqueta’s future continues to rumble, while a host of players may yet be sold, but there’s one star who simply has to be plying his trade at the London Stadium come September – after all, he’s so valuable, he’s worth more than two prospective Irons signings combined.

West Ham’s transfer plans

West Ham aren’t resting on their laurels, having addressed two key points of concern already this summer. Indeed, as per Fabrizio Romano, the east Londoners are circling in on signing Jhon Duran from Aston Villa after protracted negotiations.

But moreover, as Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg reports, the long-standing pursuit of a right-back appears to be coming to a head, with an agreement reached with Bayern Munich for the transfer of Noussair Mazraoui in a deal rising to €20m (£17m).

If technical director Tim Steidten is able to get said transfers over the line, this would be a bona fide success for a United side solely focussing on the domestic front next year, with both players more than capable of cementing starring spots in the first team.

Altogether, the signings will come in at around £60m, with Mazraoui’s fee rising to £20m and the package involving Lewis Orford heading to Villa Park totalling £40m all told – which is a significant outlay for a side that has already spent big on Guilherme and Kilman.

Another sale or two might be necessary, but it certainly mustn’t be Mohammed Kudus, who is still being linked with a move to Liverpool.

Why Mohammed Kudus must not be sold

Kudus has only been with West Ham for one year, joining from Ajax for £38m last year, but he’s definitely left his mark on English and European football since the move, with his deadly attacking skills and electrifying ball-carrying ability earning him plenty of acclaim.

With 14 goals and six assists to show for his maiden campaign in England, Kudus is rightly the most valuable player in the West Ham squad, with his current market value, in Steidten’s eyes, surpassing that of Duran and Mazraoui combined by a significant amount.

He’s a marvellous player, one of the very best dribblers in the business, even described as a “generational talent” by journalist Gary Al-Smith, and he’s ranked among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons per 90 too, as per FBref.

If a team like Liverpool does wish to sign him, they would have to pay an astronomical fee. Claret & Hugh claim to have recently spoken with a high-ranking Hammers official, who has flat-out rejected any notion that the Ghana international will be sold.

In the infinitesimal chance that Kudus does indeed leave this summer, it would require a record fee surpassing the £105m that Arsenal paid to secure Declan Rice’s services one year ago.

Kudus is a brilliant player, one of West Ham’s finest wingers in a long time. A raw, athletic bundle of brilliance, he would cost an arm and a leg to pull away from the club, easily worth more than Duran and Mazraoui combined.