West Ham’s £38m magician Mohammed Kudus is perfect for David Moyes’s blistering breakaways with his dribbles for Ajax filling showreels… and he boasts a rocket shot too!
- West Ham completed the signing of Kudus from Ajax over the weekend
- It came as their 3-1 win at Brighton showed a well-oiled countering machine
- Would Mohamed Salah ‘do the dirty’ on Liverpool by leaving? And what about Man United ‘diving’?: Listen to It’s All Kicking Off, Mail Sport’s new podcast
West Ham may have sold Elvis but in Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Konstantinos Mavropanos, they hope they have bought The Beatles.
Manager David Moyes did not want to waste the money made on Declan Rice and together with technical director Tim Steidten and sporting director Mark Noble, they have used that £105million to try to build a lean, mean, counter-attacking machine.
This approach got the better of Brighton on Saturday. West Ham completed only 31 passes in the first half, followed by 110 in the second half, but won 3-1 with 22 per cent possession at the Amex Stadium.
Moyes is no mug. Though he hopes West Ham will start to see more of the ball – they have averaged 27 per cent possession this season, the lowest in the Premier League – he realises they have to make sacrifices when facing more offensive opponents.
That is when they turn to blistering breakaways like the ones which broke Brighton and in Kudus, their £38m man from Ajax, they have purchased the perfect player for flying forward at speed.
West Ham were thrilled to complete the £38million signing of Mohammed Kudus from Ajax
The Ghanaian can be very difficult to stop when he gets into full flight on the dribble
David Moyes will be thrilled to sign Kudus, who should fit nicely into West Ham’s style of play
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Direct and devastating, the stocky 23-year-old Ghanaian is capable of creating counter-attacks all on his own.
If you think of the Premier League players most associated with dribbling, Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka might come to mind.
They attempted three and four dribbles per 90 minutes respectively last season. Kudus averaged seven per 90 for Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Indeed, there are YouTube compilations dedicated to his dribbles, of which nobody completed more in the Eredivisie last season.
Footage shows Kudus consistently collecting possession in his own half, only to roll his man and refuse to be bumped off the ball as he breaks forward.
His most memorable run from last season came in the 85th minute of an Eredivisie match at Vitesse Arnhem. Showing his athleticism, he controlled a clearance before turning and beating five men, setting up Brian Brobbey for a chance which he should have scored.
If a Premier League opponent resorts to dragging him down, West Ham will happily take the free-kick, given they now have Ward-Prowse, a specialist at set-pieces, and Alvarez, statistically a prolific header of the ball from such situations.
Kudus can operate anywhere across the midfield and forward lines, though it is towards the right of the pitch where he has been seen most for Ajax.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=37tWdN8v09g%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D497
Kudus showed his goalscoring touch with a hat-trick as Ajax beat Ludogorets last week
Ajax won the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie 4-1, with Kudus netting three times
That way, he can step inside and on to his favoured left foot, which, as his goals have shown, including that powerful strike against Liverpool in the Champions League last season, is a certifiable rocket.
West Ham consider Kudus to be their signing of the summer. Even on Saturday, when Kudus was flying to London via private jet with his agent Jen Mendelewitsch and West Ham technical director Tim Steidten, there was some cautiousness inside the club.
‘It’s like when we got Lucas Paqueta,’ one source said. ‘I’ll only celebrate when the contract is signed.’
Though Brighton wanted Kudus, and Arsenal and Chelsea were linked, it is West Ham who have secured his signature.
There is excitement at West Ham over Kudus and the attacking threat he can provide
Arsenal, Chelsea and Brighton were linked with the player but West Ham secured the deal
This Friday’s trip to Luton will likely see Moyes’ men increase their possession statistics. But with Premier League games against Manchester City and Liverpool to follow thereafter, Kudus will get his opportunity to show his progressive power.
It will be interesting if Michail Antonio is allowed to leave amid interest from Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.
The 33-year-old striker has enjoyed an excellent start to the season and was instrumental in that win at Brighton, using his strength to add to their counter-attacks. For now, he remains on the roster, alongside Kudus and West Ham’s three other arrivals.
It was Garth Crooks who once said Tottenham had sold Elvis and bought The Beatles following the departure of Gareth Bale in 2013. We know how that turned out. But West Ham are hoping it all comes together for them 10 years on.
Michail Antonio, who scored at Brighton on Saturday, could be allowed to leave for Saudi
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