As we edge towards mid-July, many big name signings are happening in this transfer window. After weeks of rumours and reports, the next one set to take place is Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United to Tottenham Hotspur.
According to high level journalist David Ornstein, the fee is in the region of £55m, with his medical at the club scheduled for Thursday ahead of signing a six year contract.
It has already been a busy summer for Spurs, who confirmed the permanent signings of Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso after their loans in the second half of last season. Luka Vuskovic has officially joined the club now that he has turned 18, with the defender having an excellent season for Westerlo in Belgium last season.
The one signing (before Kudus) that was completely unfamiliar – so not already on loan nor already confirmed – was Kota Takai for a fee of £5m from Kawasaki Frontale, a record sale for the J-League. The 20-year old already has four caps for Japan, keeping clean sheets in each game, including starts against Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
Although last season was a down year for Kudus, he has shown plenty of promise both in his first season at West Ham, and during his time at Ajax. He appeared on the radar of many when he scored a brace for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
During that tournament, Kudus played as a central midfielder, right winger and as a striker. He has played as a number ten and off the left hand side in his career too. That sort of versatility will no doubt help Spurs a lot next season.
Another benefit is that Spurs do not have to worry about this season being an AFCON year. In embarrassing fashion, Ghana failed to qualify for the tournament, finishing rock bottom of their qualifying group with Angola, Sudan and Niger.
So, whilst other teams star African players jet off to Morocco during the busy festive schedule, Spurs will have Kudus at their disposal throughout, in a huge boost to Thomas Frank.
It will be interesting to see where the 24-year old fits at Spurs. As mentioned above, he is a very versatile player. In the number ten role, James Maddison had in the most part an impressive campaign last time out. Before injury, Dejan Kulusevski was also producing consistently.
On the right hand side, it feels like Brennan Johnson would be very good under Frank. On the left, Spurs have just made a £35m investment in Mathys Tel, and up front they made a £60m investment in Dominic Solanke last summer.
Still, it feels unlikely that Spurs have signed the Ghanaian to sit on the bench. Despite the feeling that Johnson could produce under Frank, it feels most likely that Kudus will start off the right hand side, at least to begin with.
Furthermore, with Spurs now in the Champions League after their successful Europa League campaign, there will be plenty of games to go around. Respectfully, there won’t be a Qarabag or Ferencvaros where you can play a B side or play some academy players.
Overall, this feels like an exciting signing for Spurs. Let’s see what happens.
