Is 'inconsistent' Kudus 'a risk' for Spurs?
- Published
James from Luton asked: Hi Phil, what are your views on Tottenham's apparent pursuit of Mohammed Kudus?
Any agreed fee looks likely to be approaching £60m and with Eberechi Eze seemingly available for £68m I don't understand why we have not at least gone bold to find out if Eze would want to join. Kudus does not seem good value for an immediate impact.
Phil answered: Hello, James. I must admit the initial talk of £80m for Kudus sounded very, very rich to me, irrespective of his genuine talent. It would appear £60m is nearer the mark, but even then there is an element of risk because he has been inconsistent.
Eze would be a better bet, in my opinion, but there is four-year age gap to take into consideration.
For the slight reservations I have just expressed about Kudus, he is highly rated by many very good judges.
When I spoke to Danny Murphy at the end of last season about players Liverpool should be looking at this summer, he named Kudus as one and was glowing about his talent.
Kudus, 24, remains sought after despite being as underwhelming last season as he was electrifying in 2023-24 following a £38m move from Ajax.
He only scored five goals in the most recent campaign, down from 14 across all competitions in his debut season for the Hammers, and was often ineffective in the system preferred by head coach Graham Potter, who took charge in January and favours wing-backs over wingers.
Kudus was often utilised up front by Potter and seldom featured wide on the right, arguably his best position but one in which West Ham already have captain Jarrod Bowen.