There will be huge relief and renewed hope in the West Ham boardroom after Mohammed Kudus ended his goal hell.
If you had told David Sullivan or anyone at West Ham that Mohammed Kudus would be entering the Premier League run-in with just three goals to his name, you would have been laughed out of east London.
But that is the situation the Hammers and their faded star boy Kudus find themselves in.
Quite staggeringly Kudus has not scored for West Ham since a 1-1 draw against Brighton in December.
The 24-year-old had also gone over a year since scoring for Ghana.
It is some comedown from the highs of Kudus’ scintillating debut season at West Ham which saw him score 14 goals and lay on six assists.
The finger of blame for Kudus’ struggles in claret and blue this season had been pointed squarely at Julen Lopetegui, internally and externally.
West Ham’s board hoped a change of manager to Graham Potter might spark Kudus back into life as well as the team.
But his performances have failed to pick up under Potter.
It has all come at the worst possible time for the Hammers.
After recklessly burning through the Declan Rice money, West Ham have been banking on selling Kudus for big money.
Not only to raise funds for Potter’s rebuild but to bridge the loss in revenue as a result of not being in Europe.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City have all been linked with Kudus, who has a well-publicised £85m release clause.
There is not a club on the planet who will pay that kind of money for Kudus this summer.
West Ham know it too.
Kudus finally ends his goal hell after West Ham’s blunt admission
The hope at the club was he might find some form and confidence with Ghana during the international break.
Well now Kudus has finally ended his goal hell after West Ham’s blunt admission.
When Ghana beat Chad 5-0 in the first of Ghana’s matches this break, Kudus failed to get on the scoresheet.
It sums up where the West Ham man is at in many ways as reports filtered through that he had looked dangerous on the ball but lacked end product.
Speaking about Kudus’ struggles and ahead of Ghana’s game against Madagascar, West Ham’s owners made a stark admission.
Credit: Getty Images/James Chance/Harry Murphy/ Danehouse/MB Media.
Hammers need Kudus back to his best
“The truth of the matter is, we need any forward to start scoring,” the top spokesman for West Ham’s owners told Hammers News.
“But in particular Kudus, we need him to start scoring and get back to his best.”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.
There is zero jeopardy left in West Ham’s campaign.
The Hammers likely have a ceiling of 13th for this season’s finish now.
So the reason West Ham need Kudus to catch fire is perfectly obvious.
Because the Hammers board know a late flourish could put millions on his ever-dwindling price tag.
As things stand, West Ham may struggle to get much over £40-50m for the Black Star.
Late Kudus flourish may be worth millions to West Ham
Not a great profit given what the club thought they’d make on their £38.5m signing.
The good news is, the three-month nightmare is over.
Kudus made a run through the middle of the Madagascar defence and collected a through-ball from Jordan Ayew before coolly slotting home.
You could see the relief on the West Ham man’s face.
It will be matched in the Hammers boardroom.
Now Sullivan and Potter need to see a few of those in the next two months.
Because with Kudus being the club’s biggest saleable asset and his exit inevitable, it is literally worth millions to the club.
