West Ham have completed the signing of Ghanaian international Mohammed Kudus. The youngster joins from Ajax and he certainly represents an exciting addition for David Moyes’ side. Below, we’ll look at the possible dates for Mohammed Kudus’ West Ham debut.
The player becomes West Ham’s fourth summer signing after Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Kudus is the most costly of the lot, with the 23 year old joining in a £38m deal, but despite that, the club are still operating on a net transfer profit this summer after selling the likes of Declan Rice and Gianluca Scamacca.
West Ham’s inability to do early business and source a quick solution for the major departure of Rice, left them at risk of making a slow start to the Premier League season. However despite the time it took to get deals over the line, they’ve come flying out of the box with the Conference League holders 2nd in the Premier League after impressive wins over Chelsea and Brighton.
Mohammed Kudus West Ham debut – A trip to Luton?
West Ham are in action this Friday when they travel to newly promoted Luton Town. Victory would send the Hammers top of the Premier League and given their last two performances, they’ll certainly fancy their chances against a team that has conceded 7 goals in 2 matches so far and has been widely tipped for relegation.
Given West Ham’s impressive win at Brighton last weekend, it’s unlikely David Moyes will want to make many changes to his starting eleven. Therefore Kudus looks set to take his place on the bench at Kenilworth Road and will be hoping to feature at some point in the Second Half.
Match fitness should not be an issue for a player who is capable of operating in an attacking midfield or wide role. Kudus should arrive full of confidence after scoring a hat-trick in his final Ajax appearance last Thursday as the Dutch club took a big step towards the Europa League group stage by beating Ludogorets 4-1 in Bulgaria in the 1st Leg of their play-off tie.
He has also played the full 90 minutes in two Eredivisie games so far this season and there is no indication that he has any injury problems, so a West Ham debut off the bench at Luton looks likely for Kudus.
Other upcoming West Ham fixtures
Kudus’ full debut for the club is likely to come after the international break which immediately follows their trip to Luton. They’ll have a 15 day break to prepare for a challenging week which will see West Ham play two very tough Premier League games either side of their first European match of the new season:
- September 16th – West Ham vs Man City
- September 21st – Europa League group stage matchday 1
- September 24th – Liverpool vs West Ham
A potential top of the table clash at London Stadium against defending champions Manchester City could be the mouth watering stage for Kudus’ home debut. The 23 year old should be back from international duty with Ghana in time to take part in the match.
Should he fail to start either of West Ham’s next two Premier League games, the club’s opening Europa League fixture, scheduled for Thursday September 21st, may end up being Kudus’ full debut in claret and blue. Despite featuring in the play-off round for Ajax, he will not be cup-tied for the competition which will see David Moyes’ side target another long run in Europe.
West Ham then travel to Anfield a few days later to round off a really challenging period that will give us a better idea as to how strong this team is as the Londoners attempt to bounce back from a disappointing 14th place finish last term and the departure of their captain.
