West Ham United head coach Graham Potter simply has to get Mohammed Kudus firing on all cylinders.
Mohammed Kudus has been incredibly underwhelming for West Ham this season, and Graham Potter must get to the bottom of why that is.
The Ghanaian’s strained relationship with Julen Lopetegui certainly didn’t help matters, after the pair nearly came to blows earlier on this season.
However, he hasn’t done himself any favours either.
His ridiculous show of ill-discipline away at Tottenham back in October led to a five-game ban, and prevented him from building up any kind of rhythm.
Kudus has to show us all what he’s truly capable of between now and the end of the season.
And Potter is the man who has been tasked with extracting the very best from the 24-year-old star.
Graham Potter faces Mohammed Kudus challenge at West Ham
The Ghana international is our best and most exciting player on his day.
However, the former Ajax man needs to show much more consistency, if he is to be considered as one of the world’s best players.
As mentioned earlier, he hasn’t been anywhere near his best for the Hammers this season.
And Potter lifted the lid on a big challenge he faces with Kudus, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
The Hammers head coach said, “We’re in a situation where we lost a centre forward and other forwards. We’re a bit light and we’ve had to adapt with Mo and Lucas Paquetá.“
“Mo’s taken every challenge on in a good way. We’ve tried to use his physicality and it’s worked in some ways, but I think he can play in lots of positions.“
“If we can get the balance right, he’s a top, top player.“
So there you have it, it’s all about balance.
I’m not sure exactly what Potter is referencing here, but I would suggest it’s a mixture of the need for Kudus to show more defensive responsibility and to improve his decision making in the final third.
It’s also worth noting that when a player is comfortable in multiple different positions, it’s more difficult for him to excel in one single role.
As good as Kudus is, he holds onto the ball for far too long at times, often missing the chance to pick out his teammates who are in better positions than him.
Mohammed Kudus is the elephant in the room at West Ham. Sometimes our fans seem scared to say it how it is and criticise him when he’s been poor.
Many think he will leave the club this summer, when his £85 million release clause is activated.
Meanwhile, others believe he’s not the total package, and he certainly hasn’t excelled for us this season.
I firmly believe that Mohammed Kudus will improve under the guidance of Graham Potter at West Ham.
However, the Ghana international’s progress will not be linear. It will take time for him adapt to Potter’s methodology.
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