Tottenham Hotspur have signed winger Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United in a deal worth around £55million ($74.7m). The 24-year-old has signed a six-year contract.
As part of this summer’s transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.
Give me his backstory in 100 words…
Kudus was born in Ghana and trained at the Right to Dream Academy, which has a direct pipeline to several professional clubs — including Danish Superliga side Nordsjaelland (FCN), who Kudus joined in 2018, aged 17.
In two seasons in Denmark, the forward made 57 appearances across all competitions, scoring 14 goals. He signed for Ajax ahead of the 2020-21 season and spent three seasons with the Dutch side, scoring 27 times in 87 appearances — a total limited by injury problems. West Ham signed Kudus in summer 2023 and he made 80 appearances in two seasons, scoring 19 goals and registering 13 assists.
Cerys Jones
What should and shouldn’t I expect to see?
Kudus’ game is characterised by dribbling. He likes to take players on and is extremely difficult to dispossess. He can hold the ball up and his movement off it is smart, too. In terms of position, expect him to primarily play on the wing, although he has played across the front line and midfield.
One caveat: don’t expect him to successfully finish every chance. His percentage of shots on target is relatively low, so while he can create plenty for himself and his team-mates, it might require some patience to see the end-product.
Cerys Jones
How will he fit in tactically?
Tottenham’s new head coach Thomas Frank will relish having a player as dynamic as Kudus among his options for a variety of reasons.
Chief among them is the Ghanaian’s explosive ability in one-v-one situations. Boasting quick feet and a rapid change of direction, Kudus’ 7.2 take-ons attempted per 90 minutes played trailed only Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku in the Premier League last season.
This should help Spurs break down stubborn low-blocks, but his ball-carrying is an invaluable tool in transition.
They scored 10 goals from fast breaks last season, second only to champions Liverpool (14). While it’s unlikely Frank will maintain the gung-ho, helter-skelter style of Ange Postecoglou, it’s clear that counter-attacking at speed is one of this squad’s collective strengths, and Kudus’ ability will only help amplify this.
Conor O’Neill
What’s his injury record?
As mentioned, Kudus’ Ajax career was peppered with enforced absences. A knee injury kept him out from October 2020 to February 2021 (bar a 10-minute cameo in the January), he missed the beginning of the 2021-22 season with an ankle issue, before a fractured rib ruled him out again from November to February. He was also absent for four games in the following campaign because of a hamstring problem.
Since moving to the Premier League, though, none of those injuries have reoccurred.
Cerys Jones
Someone who knows him says…
Flemming Pedersen, technical director and former first-team manager at Nordsjaelland, told The Athletic in 2023: “He always stayed behind after training, because he had that desire to improve his goalscoring record. I demanded that he improve his offensive ability and I’ve noticed he’s become a lot more clinical with his finishing.
“The most important thing is to give him a lot of trust, and then you get the best version of Kudus. I didn’t try and control him when I was his manager. I tried to get closer to Kudus the person, so he could express himself on the pitch. Just through that extra bit of love, he started doing amazing things with the ball. He played with freedom. Performance-wise, he’s one of the best players I’ve worked with.”
Cerys Jones
What do we know about the finances of the deal?
Kudus has joined Tottenham on a six-year contract, which expires in June 2031. Spurs are paying West Ham around £55million — a big saving on the £85m release clause that was in place should any Premier League club have wished to sign the player before July 10.
Chris Weatherspoon
What impact will this have on both clubs’ PSR calculation?
Assuming agent fees of 10 per cent, plus a four per cent transfer levy, Kudus’ signing will add £12.2million to Spurs’ amortisation costs in 2025-26, then a further £12.5m annually until the end of the 2029-30 season.
Just a further £309,000 will then be booked into their 2030-31 figures, despite Kudus’ contract running to the end of that season. This is a by-product of Premier League (and UEFA) rules, which only allow clubs to spread transfer fees across a maximum of five years.
There will therefore be a disconnect between amortisation costs in Tottenham’s annual accounts and their respective PSR calculations. In the former, Kudus will cost £10.5million annually — £2m per year less than in their PSR (profitability and sustainability rules) submissions.
In total, across the fee paid to West Ham and associated costs, Kudus will set Spurs back an estimated £62.7million. That’s without including his weekly wages. The total cost of buying and employing the Ghana international over his full contract term will almost certainly exceed £100m.
Kudus’ West Ham contract wasn’t due to expire until June 2028, and his estimated book value at the club (again, after some assumed agent fees and the applicable transfer levy when buying him from Ajax two years ago) is estimated at £26.6million.
As reported by The Athletic at the time of that deal, Ajax secured a sell-on clause on Kudus of 10 per cent of West Ham’s future profit. There’s not a huge amount between Spurs’ fee and the money spent to take him to the London Stadium two years ago, so we project the Amsterdam side will bank between £1million and £2m.
Deducting Ajax’s share leaves West Ham’s profit on the deal at around the £27million mark. That’s a good amount, but the east Londoners don’t appear in need of PSR-related boosts, so it’s unlikely this sale has been sanctioned with that as the driving reason; they booked £57m in profit in 2023-24, a figure which remains in their PSR calculation in 2025-26.
Chris Weatherspoon
(Top photo: Alex Broadway/Getty Images)