Tottenham great Chris Waddle believes Mohammed Kudus is a ‘wonderful’ player and is destined to achieve big things with Spurs, though there could still be ‘question marks’ about his mentality, while he has also dropped his verdict on what Thomas Frank should aim for this season.
Tottenham signed Kudus from West Ham United over the summer for a fee of £55m, and he has started all seven of Spurs’ Premier League games so far this term.
The 25-year-old, who can play as an attacking midfielder or winger on either flank, scored his first goal for Tottenham against Leeds last weekend, and has notched five assists in the league thus far.
In an exclusive interview with TEAMtalk, in partnership with BestBettingSites.com, Waddle said Kudus still needs to prove himself, and also pointed out similarities between his game and the Ghanaian’s.
“I can definitely see the comparisons. Left-footed, coming inside, dropping his shoulder. I can see why people might say we’re similar. He’s a wonderful footballer, and I love watching him,” Waddle said.
“He’s very exciting, very skilful, can score goals, and he should probably score more than he does. One question about him might be that he almost disappeared last season [for West Ham] after a brilliant debut campaign after he joined from Ajax.
“Is there a question mark over his mentality or desire? We know he’s got all the attributes to be a top player and he seems to have come out the blocks very quick, as he did at West Ham. So we’ll have to wait and see on that.
“He sort of lost his way at West Ham. I don’t know what happened there, whether he got disillusioned or fell out with the coach, or didn’t like the position he was playing.
“But he’s at Tottenham now. He’s got to prove himself, which he is doing. I’ve always been a great believer that you judge players over three, four seasons. You don’t judge a player over three months.
“We know his first season at West Ham was great. His second season wasn’t very good. So we’ll wait and see. But definitely I can see why Tottenham fans have taken to him straight away. And if he keeps performing the way he is, then Tottenham’s definitely got a bargain on their hands…”
‘I felt sorry for Ange… but you need a plan B’
We also asked Waddle on his expectations for Tottenham this season, and whether they could push for the Premier League title.
Spurs currently sit third in the table, just two points behind leaders Arsenal, after picking up 14 points from seven games so far.
However, he believes a title-winning campaign may be a step too far for Frank’s team this time around.
“They’ve got to look at the top four, top five. I don’t know what gets you into the Champions League this year, but you’ll be thinking that is the target,” Waddle said.
“They’ve got to be looking at establishing themselves in the top five. Last year was a disaster in the league. I know they won the Europa League, but domestically, they were absolutely disastrous. With the players they had, they should never have been in the bottom five, bottom six, wherever it was. For a club like Tottenham, that’s unacceptable.
“Now they’ve brought in Frank and he has stabilised it. He’s not necessarily playing the Tottenham way, I suppose, but I think he looks at the opposition and he works tactics out and I think that’s what Tottenham need. All good teams have that ability to match an opponent. Last year was a bit gung-ho and we didn’t know what was going to happen. The players lost their way.
“The only thing I’d say in defence of Ange was that he got a hell of a lot of injuries. It was hard for Ange to get his side out, to play regularly and get to know each other. So on that side, I felt sorry for him. But again, he never had a plan B.
“I think the managers have got to have that in their locker these days. Thomas studies the opposition with his staff and they look at each game as they come along, and they adapt.”
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Latest Tottenham news: Palhinha deal approved / Semenyo wanted
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk transfer insider Dean Jones has revealed that Bayern Munich have given Tottenham clearance to push through the permanent signing of Joao Palhinha.
The 30-year-old midfielder joined Spurs on a season-long loan in early August, with the deal containing an option to make permanent for €30m (£26m, $35m).
Palhinha’s impressive performances have led to speculation that Bayern could recall him, but we understand that is not being considered, with Tottenham highly likely to trigger their buy option, potentially before the end of the campaign.
In other news, TEAMtalk correspondent Fraser Fletcher has confirmed that Tottenham remain big admirers of Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, with a bid under consideration.
Liverpool are also fans of the winger, so Spurs may face competition should they pursue a transfer.