Is Mohammed Kudus Still Part Of Tottenham Hotspur’s 2026/27 Plans? | OneFootball

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Tottenham Hotspur Spurs

Opinion

The 2026 summer transfer window has concluded with Tottenham Hotspur making numerous deals, both incoming and outgoing. Their 2025/26 season was one of their worst in Premier League history, as they finished seventeenth, just two points clear of the relegation zone, despite the host of additions made last summer, including Mohammed Kudus.

Before arriving from West Ham for £55 million in the 2025 summer transfer window, he endured a tough 2024/25 season in which he had to battle inconsistent form, registering five goals and three assists in the 2024/2025 Premier League season, alongside managerial changes that led to poor form.

His former manager at the time, Julen Lopetegui, after their 4-1 loss against Tottenham in the 2024/25 Premier League season, highlighted his dual responsibility for both club and country, but lamented that his poor discipline had cost the team, after he lost control and was sent off for an altercation with Micky van de Ven, which then resulted in a five-game ban for the Ghanaian international, alongside other off-field issues with the manager regarding his defensive work rate.

So when Tottenham decided they needed to upgrade their attacking options after a tumultuous 2024/25 campaign, it was no secret that the Ghanaian international was poised and destined to leave West Ham for a top-six club in the Premier League; the only question was where he would play.

Kudus’s international career for the Black Stars of Ghana has been fruitful, based on the expectations he set for himself. Making his debut as a central midfielder against South Africa in 2019, he has gone on to make 46 appearances for the national team, becoming a transcendent figure for Ghana’s attack, scoring 13 goals and six assists.

But his role has become increasingly versatile, mostly operating as a central attacking midfielder or, at times, a right winger, although he has not played much in the latter role.

Kudus’s Profile

Kudus’s playing style is very interesting. Listed at 177cm and a right winger, he has a peculiar physique where he doesn’t look imposing, but likes to play with a lot of physical contact, and his back-to-goal awareness out wide is admirable.

His ability to carry the ball from his own defensive end of the pitch to an offensive end is almost similar to a basketball fast break in transition and in possession. His bullish approach is that of a player who wants to take games by the throat, resulting in most international games living and dying by his performances, with anything less leaving him unsatisfied.

His ability to drive forward through the middle is a gift few others have, but his playmaking decisions have come into question a lot, as only six assists in 46 international appearances can rub people the wrong way.

His difficulty finding attacking teammates such as Iñaki Williams, Antoine Semenyo and Jordan Ayew with goalscoring opportunities brings about a perception of him being a ball hog and an individualist, even though he played for Ajax and FC Nordsjælland, clubs that emphasised using players’ best abilities to complement each other within a team framework.

His defensive output has sometimes been called into question, as he is not a very strong presser of the ball, and at times his aggressiveness can be a bit problematic, but when it’s channelled correctly, it’s like a train picking up speed.

But for club, he has been deployed in different positions. Since his Nordsjælland days, he has mostly played as a false nine in a 4-3-3 setup, or as a central midfielder, and his Ajax days were no different, as he was sometimes switched between striker and midfield, though also deployed at times as a right winger, and this is where West Ham comes in.

Under David Moyes, he was deployed as an emergency attacking midfield option behind Brazilian Lucas Paquetá, but was more of a bona fide starting right winger. Moyes played a more pragmatic approach, with defensive structure at the heart of a 4-2-3-1 formation and heavy counter-attacking transitions, and it brought the best out of Kudus, who registered eight goals and nine assists in 33 Premier League games for West Ham in the 2023/24 season.

A Start-Stop Career At Tottenham

His move to Tottenham was very controversial, switching to one of West Ham’s fellow London rivals, but was seen as the necessary pathway for Kudus to finally achieve his dream of playing for one of the most prestigious clubs in England, and a chance to cement his name and legacy in Ghanaian football history.

His 2025/26 Premier League debut for Tottenham could not have gotten off to a better start, assisting two goals for Thomas Frank’s side in a 3-0 win against Burnley, a sign of more to come. Thomas Frank’s decision to deploy him as a right winger was understandable, as he was suited to being more of an in-swinging crosser with a very strong left foot, while his ability to reach the byline off his right foot made him an asset in the Tottenham setup.

Though he wasn’t consistent in terms of goal involvement, Frank wanted him to be more of a playmaker from the wide areas, with the goal threats of Dominic Solanke and Richarlison seen as enough for Kudus to pick out with crosses.

His form was very patchy, as his last goal involvement in the Premier League came in a 2-2 draw away to Newcastle on matchday 14, before he went on a five-game barren run. His final game of the season came against Sunderland on matchday 20, where he only lasted 19 minutes before falling victim to a hamstring injury.

The initial prognosis suggested he would be able to return before the end of the 2025/26 season, but he suffered a relapse in his recovery, forcing him to miss not only the rest of the season but also Ghana’s FIFA World Cup campaign, where there was some controversy over his inclusion in the preliminary squad.

Kudus ended with two goals and five assists in 19 games in the 2025/26 Premier League season, and it felt frustrating, as the best of Kudus was only glimpsed in what was a somewhat promising campaign.

New Problems Arising

Kudus then joined up with the senior squad of Tottenham later on in pre-season and made his return to the side, playing 25 minutes off the bench in a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in the 2026/27 Premier League season.

His absence has made Tottenham rethink their squad depth moving forward. With him and Xavi Simons absent, they had to move quickly and sign quality players in this 2026 summer transfer window.

New players such as Savio and Omar Marmoush, both arriving from Manchester City on permanent transfers, and Mykhailo Mudryk from Chelsea on loan, are primed to give him intense competition, whilst Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Mathys Tel and Pedro Porro are all in the running for the starting berth too, not to mention Xavi Simons, who is scheduled to return having torn his ACL in the latter part of the 2025/26 campaign.

The problem for Kudus is that, under De Zerbi, he will effectively be treated as a new signing because of his lengthy absence, and that can be a worry. Hamstring injuries are a big worry, especially since the majority of players do not come back quite the same as before, with Reece James a prime example of how physical decline can impact a player’s ability to stay fit.

The relapse of the hamstring injury in April is also not a good indicator, as most explosive athletes have to tone down their aggressive playing style just to cope with muscular injuries, or else they end up spending too much time in the treatment room.

Competition For Places

Kudus has always stated that he likes to play in the middle of the field and will not change his tyle of play for any coach, mostly as an attacking midfielder, and regularly does so for the Ghanaian national team and during his time at Nordsjælland and Ajax. But since his move to England, he has featured regularly at right wing and occasionally as an attacking midfielder and a striker when a key figure goes down.

Most of his managers have seen that his effectiveness in games comes primarily from the wing areas and at times will not compromise on their structure of play just to accommodate his preferred position. Even if De Zerbi would like to give it a go, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski will be seen as the primary options for the central role, due to their playmaking ability to feed strikers during attacks, something that Kudus isn’t quite as effective at as those other options.

His track record with the national team, in terms of his assist numbers, shows that he wants to take the initiative in the goalscoring aspect of the game rather than the playmaking side.

What’s Next For Kudus

For Kudus, it’s more or less about how he can stay fit and contribute. The issue is that he needs to adapt his game now more than ever to be able to play in Roberto De Zerbi’s systematic 4-2-3-1 formation. De Zerbi is known to stick to a starting eleven that works well based on his system but can rotate in some key areas during the course of the season.

The upside is that Kudus can be useful in games that need a cutting edge, and he will need to adapt as and when injuries strike elsewhere in the squad.

He could also look for a new club in the 2027 winter transfer window if his game time does not improve during the course of the 2026/27 season, but the top-six sides look settled in terms of squad depth. Maybe a move to a club that will value his ability would be suitable and take advantage of his talent.

If he wants to look outside of England, there will be some suitors, but it will all depend on his preference and the financial capabilities of interested clubs, whether it’s a temporary or permanent transfer.

Regardless, these next few months will be crucial to his future at Tottenham. He needs to re-establish himself within the plans of the club’s future. Maybe he will be the lynchpin to Tottenham’s success, or another casualty of their inconsistent performances.

His willingness to adapt to a new style of play will be the focus of his still young and promising career, but it all depends on his ability to fight for the right to be the undisputed starter ahead of the other new quality additions who will indeed be asking for football minutes.

Kudus is a fantastic talent, and his story has shown that he has earned the right to be at the top clubs, but he now, once again, has to show that he is more than the ‘Starboy‘ nickname Ghanaians have given him, in order to fulfil his huge potential.