I find it astonishing the fury and furore that has been generated amongst some of our fanbase around Mohammad Kudus’ departure to Tottenham.
The fact is the Ghanaian (can you believe our one-time Star Boy?) did virtually nothing at all for us last season, jogging around for most part with a face like a slapped backside. At times it was blatantly obvious he didn’t want to be out there battling with his team mates, but because of circumstances, namely lack of options available to Graham Potter, kept his place without really earning it.
He was always going to be on his way this summer – it was just a question of time when he’d walk out the door and in which direction would he be heading. The fact it happened to be to a particular club in north London who came knocking hardest at the door and showing most interest in his services, that really rankled with some amongst us.
The fact other possible suitors in the shape of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – all of whom were said to be ‘interested’ in Kudus’ services, but decided better of it - suggests either our asking price was too high, the quality not considered good enough or a combination of both, maybe. That in turn should give us a clue as to who got the better of the eventual deal.
Forget the £85million release clause some seem to have become obsessed with. It really meant very little in the grand scheme of things. Only the Arabs were possibly contemplating a deal anywhere near that figure. It was never ever going to come from a Premier League club!
£55million plus add-ons is certainly not a figure to be sniffed at. It’s £5million more than Tottenham's first offer – so to squeeze another £5million out of them is a feat in itself. (Not that I’m endorsing the achievement of our Chairman in any way, shape or form).
So what have they got for their money? No doubt Kudus is a decent footballer. We saw what he could do in his first season with us. But that initial sparkle was completely absent last season. In its place we saw a player with an attitude not conducive to the team’s needs at that time – with rumours of behind the scenes shenanigans – certainly under the Lopetegui reign – that were far from professional.
Of course, he could rekindle that original sparkle in new surroundings for a time – but if things weren’t going for him again there’s every chance his temperament will be once again tested, with no guarantee the outcome would be any different to before.
We’ve recently seen other transfers with similar fees to the £55million we got for Kudus going through. Elanga to Newcastle for the same fee is one, Cunha to Manchester United for £60million is another. Joao Pedro’s gone to Chelsea for £60million and £50million took Bournemouth’s talented Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid.
The jury is still out of course on the £60million Morgan Gibbs-White move to White Hart Lane – how we’d all love that one to fall through. Every one of those players performed on a different level to Kudus last season, yet we got a very similar figure in the end for a player who did nothing in comparison.
Let’s not overlook the fact that the fee we got for Kudus now appears to have unlocked the cash Graham Potter needs to reshape his squad. El Hadji Malick Diouf’s arrival is all but confirmed and there looks to be a very real chance now that the impasse which has frustrated us all so far this summer in several other directions is being overcome.
I certainly don’t like us doing business with a club whose Chairman, in stature and persona, I despise every bit as much as our own little Napoleon. But I wouldn’t want to cut off my nose to spite my face if it meant I thought I was getting one over him. And in this case, I do.
The whiff surrounding Kudus over the first part of this year has now wafted north across London – and they’re welcome to it. What we have to do now is get on with the job of proving their gain is far from being our loss. The very opposite, in fact.
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