Everything Mohammed Kudus has said about Everton…

Everything Mohammed Kudus has said about Everton transfer after two-goal World Cup heroics

Everton fans may have been watching in despair as Mohammed Kudus scored twice to help his Ghana side beat South Korea 3-2 in the World Cup on Monday.

The one-time Everton target scored either side of half-time for his country, glancing home a deft header on 34 minutes before netting the eventual winner with an assured finish just past the hour. Those two accomplished strikes continued a rich vein of form that has seen the 22-year-old hit double figures for club and country this season, attracting interest from Europe's top clubs.

Everton may well have been the beneficiaries of those goals, had their late bid for the Ajax star been successful. Frank Lampard's side reportedly tabled a late £15million bid over the summer, but saw their approach turned away as the Dutch side remained adamant not to lose anymore key players, following the sale of Anthony and Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United.

Indeed, some reports suggested that Kudus had failed to turn up for training in a bid to force his move to Goodison Park, but the Ghanian was able to put the saga behind him come September.

Speaking to Dutch outlet NOS in mid-September, the forward admitted for the first time that Everton had offered him a 'great opportunity'.

"Everton offered me a great opportunity and I wanted to try it," he recalled. "No footballer wants to sit on the bench and neither do I.

"Although I understood that not everyone can play all the time, Everton seemed like a good option at the time. It wasn't that I didn't want to train, but I'm human and had a lot to deal with in a very short time. The chapter is now over and I'm still here."

And the Ajax star spoke about his nearly move again just last week, telling the Guardian he thought a move to Merseyside represented a 'good project'.

"For me, it was a simple matter. The only way you can develop is by getting minutes on the pitch. If I’m at a stage and I feel I’m not developing at that very moment then I have to try somewhere else.

“I thought [Everton] was a good project for me and why not? It’s not like it’s my first season at Ajax, it’s my third. So, if I’m not seeing the progress I’m looking for then why not try something else?”

And in the build-up to this afternoon's clash with South Korea, the Ajax star detailed just how close he was to arriving at Goodison Park, adding that he had spoken to Blues boss Lampard.

Kudus told Star Connect on Joy TV : “I was really close to joining Everton. I thought it was a good project for me and I felt I should try it. It wasn’t like this season was my first (at Ajax), it was my third. So if I’m not getting the progress I’m looking for, then why not try something else?

“I spoke to Lampard. I had a chat with him to find out the project they had for me, what he thought about me and how he saw me as a player, because definitely that would be the green light for me to decide whether I wanted to move. Without the coach, there is nothing.”

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