It was a big signing for Tottenham Hotspur when they secured Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United last summer. Kudus was the first player to join the club from rivals West Ham since Scott Parker made the move back in 2011.
His time at Spurs started brightly as he got two assists in a 3-0 win over Burnley in the first Premier League game of the season. While his output wasn't outstanding during the first half of the season, he carried a dreary team led by Thomas Frank.
Kudus has been out of action since January after sustaining a quad injury in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland. There was optimism that he could soon return to action. However, he is now set for an extended period on Spurs' sidelines.
We are in for a big end of the campaign for Tottenham as they look to avoid relegation. They will need someone to step up in his position on the right wing. Unfortunately, Wilson Odobert, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski are all injured, as they would have been able to do a job in Kudus's absence. Here are three players who could fill Kudus's boots.
Three players who could replace the injured Mohammed Kudus?
Randal Kolo Muani is naturally a center-forward, but he can play on either wing. He arrived at Spurs with a big reputation, having played for France, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus. However, he has failed to make a big impact at Tottenham since arriving last summer.
In total, Kolo Muani has scored just five goals with four assists in 34 games for Spurs this season. He has recently been used more as a substitute. However, with Spurs now with a new manager in Roberto De Zerbi, Kolo Muani could be in for more of a key role.
Xavi Simons can also play on either wing, but is more of an attacking midfielder. He also arrived at Spurs with big expectations, having also played for PSG, and starred in the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig.
However, his record for Spurs is also not great. He has scored just four goals with five assists for Tottenham in 38 games. A highlight for him recently was a brace against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. However, Spurs lost that tie 8-4 on aggregate.
Simons has not had a goal or an assist in the Premier League since an assist against Manchester City eight games ago. A switch to the wing could be what is needed to get the best out of the attacking midfielder.
All of these players have one thing in common: they arrived at Tottenham from big clubs but have failed to adapt. Mathys Tel joined Spurs from Bayern Munich initially on loan at the end of last season. He helped the club win the Europa League, but he was left on the bench in the final as Spurs defeated Manchester United.
Tel scored two goals with two assists in 13 Premier League games, which was enough for Spurs to sign him permanently. However, this season, he has scored just three goals, with zero assists in 24 league games.
He is also naturally a center-forward, but can also play on either wing. Tottenham will need a hero in their final seven games of the Premier League season to ensure that they do not finish in the bottom three and suffer a devastating relegation to the Championship. It would be unprecedented to see Spurs go down, and they may need an unlikely hero from now until the end of the season.