Ajax midfielder, Mohammed Kudus, says he had a chat with Everton manager, Frank Lampard, over possibly joining the Premier League club during the summer transfer window.
Having excelled with the Dutch side during the pre-season, Kudus, failed to start any of Ajax’s first four games of the season, amassing just 29 minutes during that run.
With limited minutes at the start of the 2022/23 season, the 22-year-old considered leaving Ajax as he was being fielded by new manager Alfred Schreuder.
A move to the Premier League side was on the card for Kudus, who said he was interested in trying something elsewhere. But that move didn’t materialise.
“I was really close to joining Everton,” he said on the fourth episode of Star Connect which aired on Joy Prime.
“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, it was my third. So if I’m not getting the progress I’m looking for then why not try something else? That was the focus of everything that happened.”
The attacking midfielder added but for the reluctance of Ajax to allow him to leave, he would have joined the Merseysiders as he held a discussion with Frank Lampard.
“I spoke to Lampard [regarding a move to Everton]. I had a chat with him to know the project they have for me, what he thinks about me and how he sees me as a player because definitely that would be the green light for me to decide whether I want to move. Without the coach there is nothing,” he continued.
Kudus became a regular in Schreuder’s starting line-up following the closure of the transfer window, playing in the false 9 role where he has flourished.