In an interview with The Athletic, Ghanaian midfielder Kudus said that he is ready to move forward in the coming seasons and hopes to achieve higher achievements at West Ham United. He also talked about the Ghanaian international Atsu who unfortunately passed away in the earthquake in Turkey. Kudus is seen as Ghana's hope of returning to glory.
Kudus scored one of the most exciting goals in the 2023-2024 Premier League at the end of last season. His overhead kick for West Ham against Manchester City on the final day of the season shocked their title rivals and briefly revived Arsenal's hopes of winning the title for the first time in 20 years. However, the person most dispassionate about this wonderful performance was Kudus himself who created the moment.
Speaking to The Athletic, Kudus said: "It's a move you don't see very often in the game." He described the summer as "quiet" and the moment he showed it at the Etihad Stadium The explosive performance was a stark contrast. "Usually, you picture the move in your mind and then you do it," he said. "When the ball came over, I picked it up and had a plan in mind to do it."
His shot went past Orr Tega, reduced Manchester City's lead to 1 goal. Kudus said: "I am very happy that the action I imagined in my mind came true perfectly. It feels good to be able to do it on the day when the championship is decided and give Arsenal fans some motivation."
Although Manchester City ended up The 3-1 win sealed a fourth successive Premier League title, but Kudus at least capped his first season in England with a fine goal.
It will be difficult to continue that form when play resumes next month, but the 23-year-old Ghana international is ready to build on the solid foundations laid last season. Last summer, he joined West Ham United from Ajax in the Netherlands for an initial transfer fee of 41.5 million euros. Making 45 appearances in three competitions, scoring 14 goals and providing 6 assists, West Ham finished ninth in the Premier League and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
These data will become the reference standard for Kudus in the coming year.
Kudus said: "It's not hard to set the standard, it's hard to maintain it, and based on my performance in my first season, the expectations are higher now. It's going to be tougher because everyone in the league now, whether it's The defense, the other players, know me and that's why I have to improve my level and be consistent. I'm still far from my best and what I can achieve in the league. The season is just the beginning."
As The Athletic stated this week, Kudus' contract with West Ham contains an £85m release clause, which is open to Premier League clubs from the end of the season until June. Effective on the 30th. The clause was not triggered this summer and so will not come into effect again until next May. If Kudus performs well over the next season, he may attract interest from other clubs.
Kudus is ambitious and hopes to achieve greater success at West Ham United. To this end, he remains calm about interest in him elsewhere. He said: "When you perform well in a league like this it's normal to have transfer rumors and interest from other clubs, but now my focus is on getting ready for the new season and then we'll see how everything develops. ”
He continued: “From Denmark (2018-2020), Netherlands (2020-2023) to England, I am definitely a player who likes challenges when I feel that I have reached my peak at a certain club and there is an opportunity ( I'm definitely going to challenge myself when I leave. I don't want to get complacent and get used to things being the same but it's my first season at West Ham and I believe I can do better than I did last season. .”
That overhead kick against Manchester City was not Kudus’ only highlight. He said: "When I saw there was space at my feet, I didn't care what was in front of me. I had to try and that time I had a chance to finish it myself. When I took the ball across the halfway line, I just tried to attack and see what happened. What.When I go forward with the ball, decisions need to be made. I'm glad I made the right decision. The most important thing is that I have to score after a run like that. "
After scoring, he deserved to sit down and take a rest, so he found a staff stool near the corner flag and completed his signature celebration.
Kudus said: "There is no profound meaning. It's my style of play and I like to make the fans happy on the pitch so I wanted to do something different that people can talk about. This is what I came up with. Football is entertainment, and I strive to make fans feel the value of their tickets, both on and off the field.
Things didn't always go to plan. After scoring against Newcastle a few weeks later, he gestured to a ball boy to pass the stool, but the request was met with a confused look.
Library "That story has been interpreted differently," Duss said. He couldn't hear what I was saying because St James' Park was so noisy. It’s not that he didn’t want to give me the stool. So I sat on the billboard. The story was misinterpreted because of the effect of the photo.
Kudus scored his first Premier League goal against the same opponents in October while waiting for his chance at West Ham United. It wasn't until three games into the season that he was signed Down. In his first six league appearances, he played just 95 minutes in total, all of which came as a substitute.
Kudus said: "It was a bit difficult at the beginning because I was ready to come on, but there was. Sometimes you need to slow down and adapt; take your time and then go all out. I had confidence in myself, but people like David Moyes (the coach of West Ham United at the time), who had more experience, knew the league (which was more challenging than the Eredivisie) better than I did.
This gradual integration has worked.
In addition to the two games he missed during the Africa Cup of Nations in January, he started against West Ham United starting with the home game against Everton on October 29. All remaining Premier League games.
Kudus said: "The support from my teammates and people around me has helped me adapt well (to the intensity and schedule of the Premier League) without going straight into the Premier League - in the Europa League and Carabao Cup. (His first four West Ham starts were all in these games) helped me because there were high expectations. This made it much easier for me to integrate with the team, and then my abilities came out naturally. "
Kudus performed very well for West Ham United. He has forward awareness in all positions on the field, especially in the final third. He is more on the right than the left.
Kudus "That's one of my biggest attributes, I take a lot of risks in my game to try to create something," Si said. I'm glad that I'm in an environment that allows me to do that and I will continue to do that.
In the 2023-24 Premier League season, only Manchester City's Doku has attempted more dribbles per 90 minutes (among players who have played at least 900 minutes).
This positivity has set the stage for Kudus' success in the Premier League Bringing six assists in the league, the same number as teammates Bowen and Paqueta. These three players form West Ham United's attacking trident.
Kudus said: "I enjoy it very much, especially when I have. The ability to adapt to different positions: left, right, forward or number 10, that helps me a lot and makes me more unpredictable for defenders. My teammates and I rotated at four positions and it was a lot of fun playing with those guys. I look forward to this happening again.
During the summer off-season, he spoke with the club's new manager, former Spain national team coach Julen Lopetegui. "It was just a basic introduction about how he wanted to play attacking football," Kudus said. , we will find out in preseason what kind of games he wants the team to play, but it will be good to know his plans for the team.
Kudus also talked about his new partnership with Skechers.He will wear the brand's boots from the start of the upcoming season, following in the footsteps of Ukrainian Zinchenko at Arsenal and England's Harry Kane at Bayern Munich.
Kudus said: "Kane was the big one who first introduced us to the brand and now maybe more people will start wearing them after me. I remember when we were going to play Nottingham Forest (in February), E Langa was wearing them. I was trying them on so I chatted with him.
The collaboration will also help Kudus give back to the community, as he and Skechers are working on a project to distribute in his native Ghana. Plans for more boots.
Kudus explained: “This aligns with my vision of making an impact in the community and I enjoy donating football kit at the end of each season to my previous local teams in Ghana as I remember when I was growing up , boots are hard to come by, so I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to make boots more accessible to players in my community team,”
said from his home in Nima, a suburb of Accra, the capital of Ghana, through the country. ’s “Right to Dream” academy, which is now linked to MLS side San Diego.
Kudus made his debut for Denmark's North Zealand side shortly after his 18th birthday. After two seasons, 14 goals and 57 appearances, he moved to Ajax, winning two league titles and a Dutch Cup under ten Hag, at the end of the 2021-22 season. Ten Hag left Ajax to take charge of Manchester United, and Kudus followed him to England last summer.
Kudus said: "On a larger level, (my journey) can inspire the people of Ghana and show them that they have the opportunity to reach this level. I want to inspire the next generation and the young children who are growing up because I know a lot of people are looking up to me. I have to set the right example for them and pave the way to make it smoother.”
One of the players Kudus looks up to during his football journey is his compatriot A. Tesu, who died in last year's earthquake in Turkey at the age of 31.
Atsu has played for Newcastle and Everton in the Premier League, and also played for Chelsea for a period of time. He has played more than 60 times in the national team. Kudus said: "He was one of the top talents in the league and a member of the national team at the time. I liked the way he played, dribbling past people and trying to create chances in games, doing something different. It was "It caught my attention,"
Kudus continued: "Apart from that, his charity work and support of football in Ghana is something I admire about football, but also the impact you have back home. He had a huge impact on me and many children growing up and will always live in our hearts. He was an inspiration and left a legacy in Ghana that will always be remembered. Very sad. May his soul rest in peace."
Kudus was seen as Ghana's hope of returning to glory, having won the Africa Cup of Nations four times, although the last time they reached the final was in 2015. , Ghana reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup, eventually losing to Uruguay in a penalty shootout.
In the 2022 World Cup, Kudus scored two goals against South Korea, helping the team win 3-2, but they lost to Portugal and old rival Uruguay in the other two games, so Failure to qualify from the group was similar to their performance at the 2014 World Cup, when they managed just one point from three games.
In January this year, he scored two goals again in the match against Egypt, which ended in a 2-2 draw, but this was the second consecutive time that Ghana failed to advance to the knockout stage of the African Cup of Nations.
Kudus said: "We have set a high target and our aim is to get Ghana back to that level. There have been ups and downs in the past few years, so we have to get back to fighting for the Africa Cup of Nations. We have a lot of talented players but we need to put the pieces of the puzzle together and then we will have a bright future.”
