While Nuno Espirito Santo hopes to have Mateus Fernandes and Lucas Paqueta available when West Ham United face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Thomas Frank will not be quite so fortunate with Mohammed Kudus.
Spurs could be without seven key players for the London derby.
Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are long-term absentees, now joined on the sidelines by Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur. Pape Matar Sarr joins El Hadji Malick Diouf on Africa Cup of Nations duty as Senegal prepare to battle Morocco in Sunday’s final.
With these players out or doutbful, who needs to step up against Tottenham?!
In a further blow to his hopes of turning around a miserable campaign, Thomas Frank has lost Kudus potentially until the March international break. Barring a miracle of Biblical proportions, then, the Ghana international will not be facing off against his old employers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in that 3pm kick-off.
Now, the stats may suggest otherwise given that Mohammed Kudus has scored only twice in 19 Premier League matches since his £55 million move to North London. But Kudus is a big miss. No one in a Spurs shirt has made more assists or completed more dribbles, while only set-piece taker Pedro Porro has created more chances.
As far as former Aston Villa captain-turned-talkSPORT rent-a-quote Gabby Agbonlahor is concerned, though, these impressive underlying numbers should not distract from the one which matters most.
Gabby Agbonlahor hits out at Mohammed Kudus as West Ham United travel to Tottenham
Thomas Frank wanted more goals from Kudus when the winger became the first player since Scott Parker in 2011 to cross the West Ham – Tottenham divide in July.
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Ironically enough, Kudus’ stats are worse at Spurs than they were even during a poor second season on claret and blue. A goal every 9.5 games on average. One every 773 minutes.
Such a return could perhaps be excused if Tottenham still had a Harry Kane or a Heung-Min Son to hang their hat on. Richarlison is inconsistent and exasperating at the best of times, but he is the only Spurs player to net more than three Premier League goals in the Frank era.
For Agbonlahor, Kudus has a long way to go if he is to justify a price-tag which made him Spurs’ third-most expensive player ever.
“Mohammed Kudus, £55m? Scored two goals in 19? For me, West Ham must be rubbing their hands together with what they got for him,” Agbonlahor said. “You’ve been signed for £55 million!
“[Frank should be saying] ‘I need more from you’.”
“I don’t know about you, but if I got less than one in three, I would be gutted,” replied Alan Brazil, the one-time Manchester United and Scotland forward.
What do West Ham have to do to BEAT Tottenham on Saturday? ⚒️
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Thomas Frank under pressure ahead of Nuno Espirito Santo visit
Kudus, in his defence, has tended to operate in a wider role at Spurs than he did at West Ham. His job under Frank has often been to hug the touchline and whip in crosses.
At his previous employers, where Kudus occasionally played in a more central role with Jarrod Bowen on the right, he averaged 2.3 shots per game. This season, he is averaging just 1.4.
Still, West Ham will not have to worry about Kudus returning to haunt Nuno’s visitors while improving on his underwhelming tally this weekend. Frank is arguably under greater pressure than his opposite number right now, with only four places separating the two London giants in the bottom seven.
“When I watch Spurs against Aston Villa in the FA Cup [a 2-1 home defeat last week], in the first-half, these players were not playing for the manager,” Agbonlahor argues. “Second-half, they were.
“But first-half, it didn’t look like they were respecting the manager and doing the basics of running around, let alone making something happen.”
Could Lucas Paqueta make a final Hammers appearance at Spurs?
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday lunchtime, Nuno confirmed that Lucas Paqueta could feature for West Ham if he is passed fit after a recent back injury. That is despite him pushing for a move to Flamengo and suggestions, put forward by prominent Hammers insider ExWHUemployee, that Paqueta and the West Ham board are at odds over his conduct.
Nuno also hopes to have Mateus Fernandes back, though the game could come too soon for Konstantinos Mavropanos.
“All of them are recovering from different things,” Nuno said. “Dino has had a neck [injury] that took some time. Still painful.