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 honest to say Mohammed Kudus made fairly an impression 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 they’d 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 fascinating preliminary conversations along with his former adversaries.
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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 will probably be a really completely 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 proficient 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 effectively 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 eye catching first season be?
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Watch a few of Kudus’ greatest Premier League objectives since he joined West Ham
Finest 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 occasions throughout all competitions, organising 9 extra objectives and bringing pleasure to the London Stadium along with his lightning, direct dribbles.
He even received the membership’s goal-of-the-season prize for an electrical run by means of the Freiburg defence, which started in his personal half.
However there have been simply 5 objectives in all final time period. In addition to the one at Spurs, his solely different objectives got here house and away towards Brighton and Ipswich, along with his last strike of the season arriving with simply three minutes to play towards relegated opposition at Portman Highway.
Statistically it was a disappointing dip from the promise of that first marketing campaign. “There isn’t any doubt that he is a top quality participant,” mentioned Sky Sports activities Jamie Carragher mentioned in Might. “Final season (2023/24) he appeared improbable, he simply hasn’t appeared the identical participant (in 2024/25).”
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Kudus had extra photographs in his second season at West Ham – however his numbers for objectives, assists and take-ons accomplished have been down
There are, although, the caveats round West Ham’s type and in addition the positions Kudus was requested to play throughout the 2024/25 season.
The Hammers went from top-half finishers and Europa League quarter-finalists beneath 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 completely different positions in Potter’s first three video games in cost, one thing he instructed Sky Sports activities was “very tough”.
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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 fighting 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 depend nudged up, whereas his elevated shot whole included the next share of efforts from nearer to objective. However along with his take-on numbers decrease, the spark and pleasure Kudus can deliver to West Ham’s assault was way more fleeting.
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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 sport 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 crew is not functioning in addition to you would like, people throughout the crew can undergo with that,” mentioned Potter when requested about Kudus in Might.
Will a Tottenham crew – which completed three locations under the Hammers however scored 18 extra objectives – present the setting to assist Kudus fireplace like he did in that first 12 months in England?
The method of latest Spurs boss Thomas Frank will probably be important. Bryan Mbeumo, a left-footer like Kudus, starred on the proper facet of Frank’s assault at Brentford, scoring 20 occasions final season. May Frank assist Kudus to get close to these ranges?
Spurs’ high scorer final season, Brennan Johnson, will probably be vying for a similar place, as may 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 will also be used as a centre-forward – imply Spurs may do with an elevated menace from that flank. Particularly with the calls for of Champions League soccer prone to require squad rotation.
Kudus, certainly, can rediscover his defence-threatening thrust, his trademark when he’s on high of his sport, 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 will probably be leaving opponents in disarray otherwise to his derby show final October when he’s subsequent again in N17.
