Mohammed Kudus
Mohammed Kudus (dem born am on 2 August 2000) bi Ghanaian professional footballer who dey play as attacking midfielder or a right winger for Premier League club West Ham United den de Ghana national team. He previously play give Nordsjælland den Ajax.
Club career[edit | edit source]
Nordsjælland[edit | edit source]
Kudus arrive at Danish club Nordsjælland from de Ghanaian Right to Dream Academy, wey he join at de age of 17, insyd January 2018 together plus two teammates, Ibrahim Sadiq den Gideon Mensah.
Kudus make ein official debut for Nordsjælland only three days after ein 18th birthday, as ein team loose 2–0 nil against Brøndby IF. He play from de first minute as a striker, but dem replace am insyd de half-time. With ein debut, he become de ninth youngest wey make ein debut insyd de history for de club.
Ajax[edit | edit source]
2020–22: Adaptation to de Netherlands den injury issues[edit | edit source]
On 16 July 2020, Kudus sign give Eredivisie club Ajax for €9 million, on a five-year contract. He make ein official debut give de club on 20 September insyd league match against RKC Waalwijk. Head coach Erik ten Hag subsequently call Kudus as a player wey gey "incredible potential". He continue ein strong performances, scoring one goal den providing three assists insyd ein first three appearances. Ein debut insyd de UEFA Champions League for de home match against Liverpool on 21 October 2020, however, ebi unfortunate. Dem sub Kudus out after only six minutes, as he suffer a meniscus injury, wey he dey keep am out for several months. He return back from injury insyd January 2021, coming on insyd de late minute to play 10 minutes insyd a 2–2 draw against PSV. He suffer a setback insyd ein recovery den miss de rest of demma matches insyd January before returning to action insyd February. On 21 February 2021, return to Ajax ein starting eleven for de first time since October 2020, den score a goal insyd de 50th minute of Ajax's 4–0 win over Sparta Rotterdam
After returning from injury, he play insyd 13 of Ajax demma final 14 league games, as well as 31 minutes of demma KNVB Cup semi-final match against Heerenveen as Ajax clinch de domestic double for de end of ein first season. He won ein first career trophy de 2020–21 KNVB Cup plus Ajax on 18 April 2021 after demma late 91st minute of additional time goal by David Neres. At de end of demma season, Kudus make 22 appearances insyd all competitions for Ajax scored four goals den make three assists.
On 25 July 2021, Ajax announce during demma pre-season that Kudus gey some ankle injury during demma training separately from de rest of de team ahead of de 2021–22 season. He make ein return from injury on 21 September, coming on at half-time to score de fourth goal of Ajax ein 5–0 triumph over Fortuna Sittard. Kudus suffer an injury while playing for Ghana insyd November 2021, sidelining him for three months. Ein first match back from injury demma on 14 February 2022 against FC Twente, where he come replace Steven Berghuis for de final four minutes of demma 5–0 victory.
Whilst fully recovering from ein injures den being restrict by playing time, Kudus play four matches den score four goals for Jong Ajax insyd de Eerste Divisie, wey dey include scoring a hat-trick against ADO Den Haag.
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On 17 April, he come on insyd de 86th minute for Davy Klaassen insyd de 2022 KNVB Cup final, wey Ajax lost 2–1 to demma fierce rivals PSV. Subsequent to ein return, he play insyd 11 out of 13 league matches, but he only start insyd two of dem as Ajax win de 2021–22 Eredivisie.
2022–23: Breakthrough den final seasons[edit | edit source]
On 7 September 2022, Kudus scored ein first Champions League goal insyd a 4–0 win over Rangers. On 19 February 2023, he score from a free-kick insyd de 84th minute of a league match against Sparta Rotterdam wey earn am Ajax a 4–0 victory. After scoring ein goal, he pay tribute to fellow Ghanaian footballer, Christian Atsu, who die inayd de 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. He ran to de sideline den remove ein Ajax shirt to display a white shirt underneath wey edey read, "RIP Atsu." He score 18 goals insyd 42 appearances plus six assists insyd de 2022–23 season.
Kudus start ein season, on 12 August with a goal insyd de 75th minute insyd Ajax ein 4–1 opening-day win against Heracles. Dis dey follow, insyd ein last game for Ajax, on 24 August by a hat-trick insyd a 2023–24 Europa League play-off first-leg qualifier against Ludogorets insyd Bulgaria as Ajax won 4–1.
West Ham United[edit | edit source]
On 27 August 2023, Kudus lef Ajax, signing for Premier League club West Ham United on a five-year contract for an undisclose fee, wey dem report say to be €44.5m (£38m) plus add-ons. He san become de third Ghanaian player to play for West Ham following John Paintsil den André Ayew den de second most expensive Ghanaian footballer of all-time behind Thomas Partey.
He make ein debut on 1 September insyd a 2–1 away win against Luton Town coming on insyd de 91st minute. He score ein first goals for de club insyd a group stage game of de 2023–24 UEFA Europa League on 21 September at home, netting a brace against Serbian team, Bačka Topola insyd a 3–1 win. On October 9, Kudus score ein first Premier League goal against Newcastle United insyd de 89th minute to tie de game 2–2. Kudus scissor kick goal against Brentford insyd November 2023 dem vote give am as West Ham Goal of de Month for November.
On 14 March 2024, Kudus score a goal wey dem describe am as a "goal of de season contender" den being likened am to Diego Maradona ein goal against England for de 1986 FIFA World Cup by former West Ham midfielder Joe Cole after de winger pick up de ball wey dey ein own half, before dribbling past three defenders to finish past Noah Atubolu go score West Ham ein fourth goal insyd a 5–0 win against German side Freiburg insyd de UEFA Europa League round of 16. After scoring in 4–3 away defeat by Newcastle United on 30 March, Kudus come make de top scoring Ghanaian for de club insyd with 13 goals surpassing André Ayew ein record of 12 goals. He finish ein debut season as de player wey gey most successful dribbles insyd de Premier League insyd 124 occasions.
International career[edit | edit source]
Since 2019, he bi part of de Ghana national team den score several goals. On 14 November 2021, Kudus sustain a ruptured rib injury as he dey play give Black Stars insyd demma final 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier Group match against South Africa. Dis injury keep am him out for almost three months wey edey include missing de delay 2021 African Cup of Nations despite as dem name am insyd de final squad list for de competition. Kudus make return into de squad to play for Ghana insyd demma final 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff against Nigeria. He play insyd both matches as Ghana qualified for demma fourth World Cup tournament.
Insyd November 2022, dem call Kudus for de 26-man Ghana squad wey edey compete insyd de Qatar for de 2022 FIFA World Cup. Insyd ein World Cup debut, Ghana face Portugal insyd 3–2 defeat. De following match, Kudus score twice in a 3–2 win over South Korea. Ghana dey require a win or draw insyd demma final group match against Uruguay so say dem go advance. However, dey lost 2–0, sending Ghana home for de fourth place insyd demma group.
Insyd January 2024, dem name dey insyd de 27-man squad for de 2023 Africa Cup of Nations insyd Ivory Coast. After shockingly losing de tournament ein opening match against Cape Verde 2–1, Ghana face Egypt insyd de following match, where he score a brace insyd a 2–2 draw. In demma final group stage match against Mozambique, Kudus manage go win penalty for ein team, wey Jordan Ayew convert am. Despite being two goals up, Mozambique manage to tie de game plus two late goals, den plus group rivals Egypt scoring a late goal to draw 2–2 against already-qualify Cape Verde, both teams dem eliminate from de tournament, den Egypt advance from de group stage to de knockout stages.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Kudus dey hail from Nima insyd Accra, Ghana, den he bi a Muslim. He gey two brothers insyd Accra.
Career statistics[edit | edit source]
Club[edit | edit source]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2018–19 | Danish Superliga | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20 | Danish Superliga | 25 | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 11 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 14 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 57 | 14 | ||||
| Ajax | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | — | 22 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 30 | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | 8[lower-alpha 6] | 5 | 1[lower-alpha 7] | 1 | 42 | 18 | ||
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 3 | — | 3 | 4 | |||
| Total | 65 | 17 | 6 | 1 | — | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 87 | 27 | |||
| West Ham United | 2023–24 | Premier League | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8[lower-alpha 3] | 5 | — | 44 | 14 | |
| Career total | 149 | 39 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 187 | 55 | ||
International[edit | edit source]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | 2019 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 2 | |
| Total | 34 | 11 | |
- Scores den results list Ghana ein goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kudus goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 November 2019 | Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana | South Africa | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 25 March 2021 | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa | South Africa | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 9 October 2021 | Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana | Zimbabwe | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 1 June 2022 | Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana | Madagascar | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 5 June 2022 | Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola | Central African Republic | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 6 | 28 November 2022 | Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar | South Korea | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 7 | 3–2 | |||||
| 8 | 7 September 2023 | Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana | Central African Republic | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 9 | 12 September 2023 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Liberia | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 10 | 18 January 2024 | Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Egypt | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 11 | 2–1 |
Honours[edit | edit source]
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 2020–21, 2021–22
- KNVB Cup: 2020–21
Individual
- Ghana Football Awards Footballer of the Year: 2023
- SWAG Sports Personality of the Year: 2022, 2023
- SWAG Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2021, 2022, 2023
- Eredivisie Talent of the Month: May 2021
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: September 2020, May 2021, September 2022, February 2023
- IFFHS Men's CAF Team of the Year: 2022
- IFFHS CAF Youth Team of the Year: 2020
- CAF Team of the Year: 2023
- West Ham United Goal of the Season: 2023–24
- UEFA Europa League Goal of the Season: 2023–24
References[edit | edit source]
External links[edit | edit source]
- Profile for de West Ham United F.C. website
- Mohammed Kudus at Soccerway
- Mohammed Kudus – UEFA competition record (archive)