If you asked the West Ham United supporters who they would rather lose out of Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen – two players with admirers at Tottenham Hotspur – the results of the poll would be pretty lopsided.
It is no secret that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is a big Bowen fan.
Fortunately, West Ham United’s talismanic captain is keen to ensure that love goes unrequited, if partly due to fears that his father in law Danny Dyer would make the Great Fire of London Mk 2 happen before Bowen was spotted wearing a plain white kit.
In contrast, it appears that both Mohammed Kudus and West Ham United are far more open to doing a deal with their London neighbours than Bowen ever was.
While Kudus returned for pre-season training this week, Tottenham have been locked in talks with the ex-Ajax forward.
Harry Redknapp, who coached both clubs during a sprawling managerial career, does have his reservations though. Kudus can be ‘unplayable’ on his day, to quote another ex-Hammers boss in Alan Pardew, but those days have been few and far between of late.
Harry Redknapp gives his view on Mohammed Kudus leaving West Ham United for Tottenham
Kudus scored only five goals while providing a grand total of three assists in 32 Premier League matches last season.
West Ham need to raise funds for new signings – El Hadji Malick Diouf, Oscar Mingueza and Raphael Onyedika are among the priority targets – so letting Kudus make a controversial switch to rivals Tottenham is a necessary evil the Hammers seem happy enough to accept.
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“Yeah, he’s not bad,” Redknapp says, his rather sceptical response summing up the feeling surrounding a footballer who last season promised so much but delivered relatively little.
“He’s got bags of ability. There’s no doubting his ability. [But] I know one or two people around the place at West Ham, I think there are question marks over him. I think his ability is not questionable but I don’t know…
“He’s certainly got ability and he’s a player that when he gets on the ball, he can make things happen. He’ll be exciting.
“So yeah he’ll certainly bring something to Tottenham for sure.”
Redknapp says Graham Potter needs signings to support Jarrod Bowen
While new Spurs boss Thomas Frank is a confirmed Kudus fan, there are now suggestions that Tottenham may have cooled their interest in the £60 million-rated forward.
How this situation ends up being resolved is anyone’s guess at this stage. Fortunately, speculation over Jarrod Bowen’s future has all-but disappeared.
“The boy Bowen seemed to carry the team on his shoulders single-handedly!” Redknapp adds, the skipper the only Hammers forward to perform consistently near his best in 2024/25.
“Certainly, they need to make some signings if they are going to improve this year. Their league position was very poor [last season, finishing 14th]. Since Graham Potter went in there, things didn’t really improve.
“But It’s very difficult. He hasn’t got a magic wand. He took over a pretty average team really and they are going to have to get one or two in to do anything this year.”