MOHAMMED KUDUS didn’t just dream of the Premier League, he dragged himself there.
The man signed by Tottenham for £55million had to overcome pain, setbacks and the kind of adversity most can’t even imagine.
Kudus grew up in Nima, one of the toughest neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana.
Tin-roofed homes built in the 1800s, markets that never sleep, and a crushing lack of opportunity - that was Kudus’s reality.
Pickpocketing and poverty surrounded him.
Bashiru Mohammed Zakari is the vice chairman of Strong Towers, Kudus’ first football club and told SunSport in an exclusive interview: “For many kids from Nima, options are limited.
“Football has become an escape for most. When he (Kudus) came to us, he barely spoke.
“He’d spend hours with his mates and you wouldn’t hear a word from him. But there was something different about him, quiet, yes. Timid? Not a chance.”
He’d go to school in the morning, count down the hours and race off to Montreal Park - a rough patch of dust that’s now gone, bulldozed to make way for the National Mosque in Accra.
That park was where he put in the graft, that’s where the hunger grew.
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Zakari added: "I remember how we picked him up, like it was just yesterday. He got really lucky that we didn’t have our own academy, so we organised games with Right to Dream Academy , and that’s where they spotted him."
At just 13, Kudus was snapped up by the Right to Dream Academy, but even there, things weren’t smooth.
Mas-Ud Didi Dramani, the first coach who took him to Right to Dream exclusively told SunSport in an interview from his base in Accra: “He was very shy.
“I think Kudus is a very determined footballer. We had him on our radar for a while, but it wasn’t until we played against his local team that we decided to bring him in.
“He was only around 13 to 14 years old. Our role wasn’t just to develop them as footballers but also to ensure they grew as better human beings.
“I remember when he first joined, like most teenagers, he was eager to impress. But one thing stood out for me.
"It was when he broke his thumb and was in a cast, yet still worked with the group.
“I still recall those moments and how mentally tough and stable he was, playing with a cast on his hand.”
At Right to Dream, his talent was obvious, but so was the confusion about where to actually play him.
One week he was box-to-box, the next drifting out wide. A jack-of-all-trades. It took time, patience and trust before he carved out his true identity.
When FC Nordsjaelland, the Academy’s sister club in Denmark, came calling, Kudus packed his bags and went.
But the challenge wasn’t just on the pitch. It was everything, from the cold weather and strange food to no friends and no family.
Dramani says: “I remember speaking to him and telling him that it’s going to be tough before it gets better.
“But one thing I can say is to remember how far you’ve come, remember how you used to play with a broken thumb and when the manager gives you five minutes, show him you deserve ten.
“Then, when you have ten, work for 20.
“In Europe, you get what you work for and it worked, he was a sensation in Denmark, and it didn’t take long before Ajax came calling.”
The move to Ajax brought him closer to his Premier League dream.
But just as things looked up, they came crashing down again.
In 2022, Everton came in with a serious offer. Kudus wanted it, the Premier League was right there for the taking and he was going to play under Frank Lampard but Ajax said no.
Just like that, the deal was dead, worse, they froze him out of the team. Still, he didn’t moan and didn’t throw a tantrum.
He just got on with it and later told Dutch outlet De Telegraaf: "The fact that Ajax blocked a transfer to Everton last time disappointed me.
“I thought it was time for a new chapter in my career because I wasn’t playing here. But the moment the transfer window closed, my full focus shifted back to Ajax.”
That is the kind of statement that defines Kudus, he believes life is like a bicycle and the only way to maintain balance is to keep peddling.
So when the West Ham move came along he jumped on it and moved to East London.
His first season was sensational, 14 goals across all competitions, 20-goal contributions, two bicycle kicks amongst them and that solo run and a brilliant finish against Freiburg in Europe.
But in the second season everything faded again - only five goals, a huge drop and even though he still attempted the most take-ons of any player in the league he was just not the same energetic all-action forward who would sit on the advertising board after a goal.
But for a boy who grew up in the chaos of Nima, struggled in the Danish cold and fought his way back after heartbreak in Amsterdam, he believes a move to Spurs presents with him an opportunity and platform to showcase his absolute best.
For Spurs - where Kudus could face an awkward first meeting - they’re getting a player who is an absolute game changer, an edge of your seat player who can be world class in the right environment and has a dynamite shot.