West Ham are set to increase their offer for Ajax attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus as they look to get a deal over the line in the next 48 hours, sources have told Football Insider.

The Irons have held extensive talks with their Dutch counterparts over a deal for the 23-year-old and have had a bid of £40m knocked back.

Ajax are holding out for a £44m fee for their prize asset, who has already agreed personal terms with the Premier League club.

West Ham will now submit an improved offer for the player that will include increased add-ons payments in order to secure a full agreement.

They have so far proved a sticking point in negotiations.

Nevertheless, the Londoners are increasingly confident of agreeing a deal for one of their top summer targets.

Hammers technical director Tim Steidten was in Amsterdam last week trying to complete a deal for the Ghana international.

Kudus is believed to be keen to move to the Premier League after previous moves fell through late on.

Kudus came close to a move to a Serie A club and has been on the radar of multiple leading English clubs this summer, including Chelsea and Brighton.

The Seagulls reportedly agreed a £35million fee for Kudus earlier this summer but failed to complete the signing after a dispute over the involvement of a release clause in his contract.

The Ajax star has got off to a brilliant start in the 2023/24 campaign, scoring in the opening weekend fixture against Heracles last weekend and assisting in a 2-2 draw with Excelsior on Saturday (19 August).

He has proven to be a reliable source of goals for the Dutch side after scoring 18 in 42 total appearances for Ajax last season.

In other news,

West Ham United transfer news as Sky Sports share update on Konstantinos Mavropanos medical.

Konstantinos Mavropanos has completed his medical ahead of his move to West Ham, according to Florian Plettenberg.

The Sky Sports Germany journalist tweeted on 21 August that the Greece international will now complete his move to the Hammers from German side Stuttgart.That comes after concerns had been expressed about the 25-year-old potentially failing his medical, but that appears not to be the case as the defender closes in on a £21.4million switch to the London Stadium.

Done deal

This latest development appears to indicate that Mavropanos is now on the verge of sealing his move to East London after completing his medical.

That will come as a huge relief to Hammers fans after there were reports that the Greek had failed his medical due to a back issue he has been suffering from.But club insider ExWHUemployee reported on his Patreon on 21 August that the problem is only minor, so it shouldn’t keep him out for long if any time at all.

David Moyes will be delighted to be getting another new signing through the door after he has been looking to bring in another defender to add to his squad this summer.

The centre-back had an impressive spell with Stuttgart after joining from Arsenal last year and will be desperate to prove that he is more than capable of playing at Premier League level after being handed a second opportunity.

In other West Ham news, the Hammers have made an approach to sign a Portuguese forward.