Micky van de Ven was on the ground holding his head. Richarlison too. After which Pape Sarr obtained a shove within the face. It’s truthful to say Mohammed Kudus made fairly an influence on his most up-to-date look on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The winger had opened the scoring earlier within the October derby however was ultimately despatched off late on after a VAR verify for his half in a melee, which started with Kudus repeatedly booting the ball towards a fallen Van de Ven. It summed up West Ham’s frustrations after that they had blown their benefit to go 4-1 down.
Kudus was handed a five-game ban for the incident. He later admitted he had “misplaced his cool” and was “deeply embarrassed” by the occasions. If Spurs do go on to signal him, there may very well be some attention-grabbing preliminary conversations together with his former adversaries.
Kudus obtained a five-game ban after he was despatched off for elevating his arms to Micky van de Ven and Pape Sarr in West Ham’s 4-1 defeat towards Tottenham
There shall be a really totally different response from the followers who jeered him off the pitch that day, although.
Kudus is an thrilling switch goal. Spurs hardly ever do enterprise with West Ham – the Ghanian could be the primary signing from their rivals in 14 years – however Kudus is deemed gifted sufficient to make an exception for.
Kudus is nearly to show 25, would add much-needed depth to Spurs’ huge attacking positions and, after two seasons in east London, is properly conscious of the calls for of the Premier League. With three years nonetheless to run on his West Ham contract, all of it provides as much as a price ticket north of £50m.
So what would Spurs be getting for his or her cash? And the way a lot of a priority ought to his drop-off from an attention-grabbing first season be?
Watch a few of Kudus’ greatest Premier League targets since he joined West Ham
Greatest newcomer, stuttering second season – will Kudus kick on?
Kudus was named because the Premier League’s greatest newcomer by Sky Sports activities’ Gary Neville within the MNF awards on the finish of the 2023/24 season. A £38m buy from Ajax appeared like a discount deal for West Ham, with Kudus scoring 14 instances throughout all competitions, organising 9 extra targets and bringing pleasure to the London Stadium together with his lightning, direct dribbles.
He even gained the membership’s goal-of-the-season prize for an electrical run via the Freiburg defence, which started in his personal half.
However there have been simply 5 targets in all final time period. In addition to the one at Spurs, his solely different targets got here residence and away towards Brighton and Ipswich, together with his ultimate strike of the season arriving with simply three minutes to play towards relegated opposition at Portman Street.
Statistically it was a disappointing dip from the promise of that first marketing campaign. “There is no doubt that he is a top quality participant,” stated Sky Sports activities Jamie Carragher stated in Could. “Final season (2023/24) he appeared incredible, he simply hasn’t appeared the identical participant [in 2024/25].”
Kudus had extra photographs in his second season at West Ham – however his numbers for targets, assists and take-ons accomplished have been down
There are, although, the caveats round West Ham’s kind and likewise the positions Kudus was requested to play in the course of the 2024/25 season.
The Hammers went from top-half finishers and Europa League quarter-finalists underneath David Moyes to struggling to 14th with Julen Lopetegui after which Graham Potter in cost for Kudus’ second season in London.
Damage points within the West Ham assault led to Kudus enjoying in 4 totally different positions in Potter’s first three video games in cost, one thing he told Sky Sports was “very difficult”.
Kudus performed 1,523 minutes on his favoured proper flank in his first season at West Ham – however simply 646 minutes in2024/25
After racking up 1,523 minutes of gametime on his favoured proper flank in his first season – chopping onto his favoured left foot to shoot at objective or provide Jarrod Bowen in central areas – that quantity dropped to 646 minutes final time period, as Kudus plugged gaps throughout the frontline.
There have been even stints in an unfamiliar centre-forward function, the place he admitted struggling with the physicality and tactical runs required.
It appeared teaching had been executed to attempt to get Kudus enjoying in additional harmful areas – his probability creation rely nudged up, whereas his elevated shot complete included a better proportion of efforts from nearer to objective. However together with his take-on numbers decrease, the spark and pleasure Kudus can deliver to West Ham’s assault was much more fleeting.
Kudus took 44.8 per cent of 67 photographs from outdoors the field in 2023/24. Simply 29 per cent of his photographs in 24/25 have been outdoors the field
The query is how a lot of that could be a pure inconsistency in his recreation and the way a lot is all the way down to enjoying in a West Ham facet missing fluidity of their attacking play final season? “Generally when the workforce is not functioning in addition to you want, people inside the workforce can endure with that,” stated Potter when requested about Kudus in Could.
Will a Tottenham workforce – which completed three locations under the Hammers however scored 18 extra targets – present the setting to assist Kudus hearth like he did in that first 12 months in England?
The strategy of recent Spurs boss Thomas Frank shall be important. Bryan Mbeumo, a left-footer like Kudus, starred on the proper facet of Frank’s assault at Brentford, scoring 20 instances final season. May Frank assist Kudus to get close to these ranges?
Spurs’ high scorer final season, Brennan Johnson, shall be vying for a similar place, as might Dejan Kulusevski, though he was more and more used in-field by Ange Postecoglou. So Kudus is also deployed on the left, the place he spent a lot of his minutes final season at West Ham.
Uncertainty over Heung-Min Son’s future, the tip of Timo Werner’s unsuccessful mortgage and the relative inexperience of Mikey Moore and Mathys Tel – who can be used as a centre-forward – imply Spurs might do with an elevated risk from that flank. Particularly with the calls for of Champions League soccer more likely to require squad rotation.
Kudus, absolutely, can rediscover his defence-threatening thrust, his trademark when he’s on high of his recreation, and the mix of spectacular strikes and back-post ending, which he demonstrated on his final journey to Tottenham.
That each one provides as much as a worthwhile funding for Spurs, if they will discover a determine which convinces West Ham to promote. They may then hope Kudus shall be leaving opponents in disarray another way to his derby show final October when he’s subsequent again in N17.
