Tottenham analysis: How good is Mohammed Kudus? Spurs beat Burnley in first Premier League match under Thomas Frank
Tottenham Hotspur started with a bang as Thomas Frank’s men dispatched newly-promoted Burnley 3-0 on the opening weekend of the Premier League.
Brazilian forward Richarlison bagged a brace as Brennan Johnson rounded off the scoring in an impressive Spurs performance.
However, one player who stole the headlines was summer signing Mohammed Kudus, who moved to North London from West Ham United in July.
Here, Transfer News Blitz writer Louie Rudge-Ferro has evaluated the Ghanaian’s Premier League debut at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mohammed Kudus looks dangerous
It has not taken long for the £55million man to settle in at North London after an eye-catching performance against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
It took less than 10 minutes of Premier League action for Kudus to register his first assist for the Lilywhites.
The forward dribbled past Clarets midfielder Josh Cullen to whip an enticing ball into the box, which was swung home by Richarlison.
Kudus even looked dangerous from the first minute, as a panicked clearance from Maxime Esteve allowed him to play a dangerous cross into Lucas Bergvall, whose heavy touch left an easy save for Martin Dubravka.
The 25-year-old’s best play, however, came in the 52nd minute.
As he received the ball in the right corner, Kudus dropped his shoulder and snapped the ball away from Quilindschy Hartman towards the byline, before delivering a beautifully weighted cross, which was met acrobatically by Richarlison.
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Mohammed Kudus ‘against the grain’
As we dive further into the ‘Pep Guardiola era’ of football, where ball retention and pass accuracy have become more important, Kudus offered something more dynamic on his Tottenham debut.
The Ghana international was more than willing to take on his man and put a cross into the box - a rarity in Premier League wingers today.
Kudus registered 10 crosses against Burnley, as well as two successful dribbles, and he was very effective at creating goal-scoring opportunities from these actions.
With a career best of only six assists in a season, the forward is not necessarily known for his creative spark.
Following two assists on Spurs’ opening day win against Burnley, it would suggest that Kudus is on course to break that tally, especially given the quality of attacking players at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Where will Thomas Frank deploy Mohammed Kudus?
At West Ham, Kudus was moved to the left-hand side, his weaker side, to accommodate top goal scorer Jarrod Bowen.
However, in North London, it appears as though the Ghanaian has been given more freedom to play in his natural position on the right wing.
Consequently, Welsh international Johnson was forced out of his favoured position and moved left against Burnley.
Frank clearly has a lot of faith in Kudus to start him on the right over Spurs' top goal scorer from last term.
That trust certainly seems to be getting repaid, as Kudus showed clear signs of confidence when he took a Neymar-esque touch to control a long ball before releasing Pedro Porro down the right.
That being said, a confident Kudus is a player who can get supporters off their seats and change the course of games.
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Mohammed Kudus’s versatility
The Ghanaian can also behave more like a modern winger, with a pass accuracy of 92%, including five key passes, he is efficient at keeping hold of the ball.
Off the ball, Kudus made one tackle, won five duels and ran 8.7km, which he will need to do to continue to impress Frank, whose non-negotiable is hard work.
What is yet to be seen is how Kudus’ scoring prowess will transfer to a Spurs shirt.
The winger netted an impressive 18 goals in all competitions from midfield with Ajax in the 2022/23 campaign, which was largely the reason the Hammers signed him the following summer.
Since coming to the Premier League, Kudus has found it harder to reach those numbers consistently.
Some suggest he was far off the pace last season, having registered just five goals in a disappointing campaign for the Irons, even getting sent off in a 4-1 defeat to Spurs.
However, Kudus’ quality has never been doubted, and it will be interesting to see whether he can revive his goal-scoring form in what is a huge season for Tottenham Hotspur.
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