Plenty thought it at the time of his arrival, and the same notion continues to ring just as true now: West Ham’s signing of Mohammed Kudus was one of the best pieces of business by any club in Europe last summer.
The Ghanaian, coming off the back of a proper breakthrough campaign in the Netherlands, looked destined to make the move from Ajax to one of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ or even one of the continent’s elite sides. The 23-year-old had been linked heavily with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and PSG, but ultimately it was the UEFA Europa Conference League winners who sealed a £38m deal in the final days of the transfer window.
Kudus, whose move was officially announced on the 27th August, didn’t make a Premier League start for more than two months after arriving in east London. The Ghana international was handed substitute minutes by David Moyes to begin with to help him gradually adapt to the demands of life in the Premier League.
Despite not making his first league start until late October, it took Kudus just 72 minutes of action - as a substitute, and across five matches - to get off the mark in England. He came from the bench to open his account in the Premier League with an 89th-minute equaliser against Newcastle at the London Stadium; not a bad way to truly introduce yourself to the Hammers faithful.
Since that 14-minute cameo, Kudus has started just about every Premier League game he has been available for, and has cemented himself as a key part in the Irons’ trio of attacking stars, alongside top scorer Jarrod Bowen and Brazilian maestro Lucas Paqueta.
With 30 appearances under his belt thus far, the 23-year-old has seven goals and five assists to his name, a more than respectable return for a young player who, let’s not forget, also played a part in the mid-season Africa Cup of Nations with his country.
Among Kudus’ exciting attributes, like his ball striking and fearlessness to get shots away from outside of the penalty area, one stands out - not just among his West Ham teammates, or only in the Premier League for that matter - but across Europe: his dribbling ability.
Kudus’ five successful dribbles against Liverpool last Saturday saw him become the first player to complete at least 100 in Europe’s top five leagues this season. In the Premier League alone, he has completed at least 16 more than any other player, emphasising just how frequently he will take on, and beat, his man.
Dribbles are often criticised as a metric to measure a player by, given that it’s not always clear whether a successful dribble has actually gone on to result in a shot or goal. Kudus, though, will look to goal at every opportunity, should he get past his man - and that mentality was perfectly clear in a stunning solo goal against Freiburg in the Europa League round of 16 back in March.
The Ghanaian latched on to a stray pass by the away side, picking the ball up halfway inside his own half, before embarking on a remarkably quick yet assured run up to the other end of the pitch. After zig-zagging his way between a handful of Freiburg players, Kudus calmly picked his spot once he had entered the penalty area, and finished with aplomb.
In an era where once expressive players like Jack Grealish are coached to prioritise control and instructed to play the ball backwards to safety rather than dare to take risks, watching Kudus in full flow is a joy to behold. His latest landmark, a century of successful dribbles - and counting - only further justifies his reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting attacking players.
The question that remains now is not if, but when, it will be that Europe’s elite clubs begin to circle once again, as they are said to have done last summer, only this time they will surely know better than to let a player of Kudus’ quality escape their grasp.
