When shaping any squad, the diversity of the profiles is vital.
Different characteristics offer diverse solutions depending on the team’s principles and the opponent on the day.
Tottenham Hotspur’s new head coach, Thomas Frank, will adapt to the squad at his disposal. That’s why empowering the team with missing profiles is a step in the right direction, as it gives the Danish head coach more tools.
Since the start of the summer transfer window, Spurs have been interested in signing a winger and had a £50million ($68m) bid for West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus turned down.
Going for Kudus, 24, is an interesting choice because it provides flexibility and fills a profile gap in Tottenham’s squad. The shortage of dribblers in Frank’s team limits their attacking solutions, especially with the lack of a left-footed one.
Kudus perfectly fits the required profile, while being able to play in any position across the front line. The forward’s skill set isn’t limited to his dribbling, though, as his ball-carrying ability offers a threat on the transition and his movement inside the penalty area puts him in dangerous goalscoring positions.
In terms of Premier League dribblers, it’s impossible to ignore Kudus’ one-on-one prowess. “It’s one of my biggest attributes,” he told The Athletic last year. “I play with so much risk and try to create stuff in the game out of nothing.”
Last season, he attempted the second-most take-ons per 90 minutes (7.2) in the Premier League, and had the second-highest successful take-ons per game (3.2) among players with at least 75 attempts.
One of the stand-out aspects of Kudus’ dribbling is his ability to drive past opponents in large areas as well as weave through them in tight spaces, as seen in this example from the 1-1 draw against Everton in March.
Kudus is comfortable dribbling in any direction, which makes him unpredictable and enables him to play in multiple attacking positions. His understanding of how to use his body as a shield between the opponent and the ball is another aspect that makes him hard to dispossess.
“My low centre of gravity also helps. I work a lot on my lower body, so it’s really hard for me to get off the ball or be pushed away easily,” Kudus said in an interview with the Premier League last year.
The forward’s low centre of gravity allows him to twist and turn faster, which is key to his success in one-on-one situations.
In this example, against Tottenham in May, Kudus dribbles inside the pitch and puts his body between Wilson Odobert and the ball, before quickly changing direction to get past Yves Bissouma and speeding past Archie Gray to create a crossing angle.
Kudus is a multiple-touch dribbler, which helps him keep the ball away from the opponents while waiting for the right moment to change direction or accelerate into space to find a passing angle.
In this example, from the 3-1 victory against Luton Town in May 2024, Kudus was in a one-versus-two situation, but he managed to dribble past Gabriel Osho and Alfie Doughty to assist George Earthy.
Here, West Ham’s forward initially dribbles inside and his multiple-touch approach wrong-foots Osho.
Kudus’ left-footed touch (slide 1) moves the Luton defender inside the pitch, and he quickly rolls the ball in the other direction as Osho tries to balance himself, before accelerating into space to play the cutback with his right foot.
Kudus’ dribbling style translates well to a higher-possession side that faces deeper blocks because he is able to dribble in tight spaces by using his body smartly, taking multiple touches to change his direction and accelerating in short distances to create passing or shooting angles.
The last part is complemented by his ability to shoot or pass with his weaker foot, which makes him a threat regardless of his position or direction of dribble.
In bigger spaces and transitional situations, Kudus is a menace on and off the ball due to his pace and ball-carrying ability. “When I see space with the ball at my feet, I don’t care what’s in front of me. I have to go for it,” he told The Athletic last year.
Despite Kudus’ unattractive underlying attacking numbers — which are partly influenced by West Ham’s style — his off-ball movement in and around the penalty box is smart and it’s an area of his game that can be harnessed in a better way.
In this example, against Brentford in November 2023, Kudus darts inside the penalty area and attacks the space behind Vitaly Janelt to offer Said Benrahma a crossing option towards the back post.
The Ghanaian only manages to hit the post with his thigh, but Jarrod Bowen follows the ball and scores on the rebound.
In another example, against Brighton & Hove Albion in April, Aaron Wan-Bissaka finds Bowen’s run behind the defence, while Mats Wieffer is keeping an eye on Kudus down the left side.
Kudus initially darts inside to offer Bowen a passing option…
… but then changes his direction and attacks the back post to surprise Wieffer.
However, Bowen plays the pass according to Kudus’ earlier movement, and the Ghanaian alters his direction once again to beat Wieffer who has dropped to defend the back post.
Kudus’ smart off-ball movement allows him to reach the ball first…
… and he side-foots it into the bottom corner.
There is scope for developing Kudus’ attacking output in terms of goals and assists, which in theory should increase in a more attacking style of play.
His profile has the capacity to be a goalscoring and creative threat because, more often than not, it’s the final action that fails him.
Kudus’ ability in one-versus-one situations means that isolating him against a defender is one attacking option, but his dribbling is as beneficial in tight spaces against deeper blocks.
Meanwhile, he is effective on the transition and has the potential to be a goalscoring threat inside the penalty area.
Kudus is primarily a dribbler, but he offers more than that. His profile is one that Tottenham don’t have in abundance and he will offer Frank more attacking solutions against different types of opponents.