West Ham have confirmed the departure of attacker Mohammed Kudus, who has joined London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on a six year deal.
It is the first time since 2011 that a West Ham player has joined Tottenham, with Scott Parker being the previous player to make the switch to North London.
The Hammers signed Kudus in August 2023 from Ajax in a deal worth around £38 million according to Sky Sports. There was a lot of hype surrounding the transfer as it was felt that Kudus could have joined a bigger club.
Coming into this summer’s transfer window, West Ham knew that there was a high chance that Kudus would make way, but nobody thought he would join the club’s rivals. The 24-year-old did have a £85 million release clause in his contract, but West Ham accept the fact nobody was going to activate it.
Reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Kudus didn’t want to negotiate with any other clubs and that he only wanted to join Spurs.
However, **West Ham**’s most reliable source, ExWHUEmployee, reported that when Kudus learnt Liverpool and Arsenal weren’t going to sign him, he then only wanted to join Spurs and turned down interest from Saudi clubs. He also mentioned West Ham were even prepared to accept a lesser fee for Kudus from any club that wasn’t Spurs, but no other bids came in. Chelsea showed an interest but never made a cash offer.
ExWHUEmployee also stated that, the Hammers considered the fees for Anthony Elanga, João Pedro and the reported fee for Bryan Mbeumo, who all had better seasons, as the benchmark for fees that would be acceptable for Kudus. Based on their transfer fees and reported fees, the agreed fee of £55m + add-ons for Kudus was seen as not terrible.
The 24-year-old was evidently pushing for the move as Jacob Steinberg from the Guardian reported that he was late to training twice this week and had even handed in a transfer request.
During the Ghanian’s two years in East London, he featured 80 times and scored 19 goals and picked up 13 assists. However, 14 of his goals came in his first season as he struggled for form in his second season.
First season success
When Kudus joined West Ham from Ajax there was a real buzz surrounding the transfer. This was due to Kudus scoring 18 goals and picking up seven assists. He had even already played three games for Ajax in August of the 23/24 season and scored four goals.
Kudus struggled to break into the first team and didn’t make his first start until the 29th October against Everton. However, he was making an impact off the bench in those games where he didn’t start and scored his first goal in claret and blue at the start of October. After coming on against Newcastle, Kudus rescued a point late on as he smashed a half volley past Nick Pope.
Before the new year Kudus had established himself in the starting lineup and had already scored six goals and picked up three assists. He was the attacker West Ham had been crying out for years, someone who got you off your seat and produced end product.
After the new year, the 24-year-old turned into the creator as he grabbed six assists. He also started and played the full 90 minutes in every game until the end of the season.
The Ghanian wasn’t afraid to score a wonder goal every now and then. His scissor kick away at Brentford, his outrageous bicycle kick against Manchester City on the final day of the season and his most notable goal in claret and blue, his solo run against SC Freiburg in the Europa League. That is when Kudus announced himself to the world.
He also played a big part in West Ham getting to the quarterfinals of the Europa League in the 23/244 season as he scored five goals in nine appearances.
Kudus’ first season in East London will always be remembered as well as his iconic ‘take a seat’ celebration which he made his own. It all changed in his second season though.
Second season struggles
After his first season, everyone was expecting big things from Kudus, but it didn’t plan out like that.
A new manager through the door didn’t affect Kudus’ game time as he started the first eight games. However he failed to register a goal or assist in the first six. There was an alleged bust up between Kudus and Julien Lopetegui at half-time against Brentford which saw him get subbed off at the interval. Roshane Thomas at the Athletic reported the pair “had a frank exchange of words”.
Despite that, Kudus then scored in the next two games against the Ipswich and Tottenham. However, against Spurs he earned himself a five game ban for hitting defender Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr in the face.
After coming back from suspension, Kudus struggled for form and looked like he did not want to play for the club with the way he conducted himself on the pitch. Many Hammers labelled Kudus as “lazy” with his lack of output and effort.
He scored 3 times in the 25 games after his ban. Obviously, West Ham’s poor form affected Kudus, but the player everyone saw from the first season was nowhere to be seen in the second.
If he can recapture his form that he showed in his first season then the £55 million fee Spurs have paid will seem like a bargain. However, if Kudus performs like he did last season, then he may struggle to impress Spurs fans.