Ghana star Mohammed Kudus marked his 50th appearance for West Ham United over the weekend in a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage against Fulham.
West Ham skipper Jarrod Bowen provided the assist for Danny Ings to score late in stoppage time, with Kudus seeing out the entire game.
The 24-year-old signed a five-year deal with West Ham in the summer of 2023 after the Hammers agreed a €43m deal with Ajax.
The Black Stars player has since gone on to feature 50 times for the club, making 37 league appearances, four domestic cup appearances, and nine continental appearances.
Kudus has scored 14 times across all competitions in that period but is yet to hit the ground running in the 2024-25 season.
Despite the managerial tweak, with David Moyes being replaced by Julen Lopetegui, West Ham have struggled, garnering four points from four games.
Mohammed Kudus mini goalscoring drought a concern?
The 24-year-old is five games into the 2024-25 season without a goal, despite his goal-bound attempt being steered in by Jarrod Bowen in the League Cup against Bournemouth.
Kudus’ last goal for West Ham was on the final day of the last season, with an audacious acrobatic effort giving West Ham a lifeline against Manchester City until Rodri restored City’s two-goal advantage.
Despite the barring spell in front of goal at the start of the 2024-25 campaign, which has seen the Ghanaian fail to score in four Premier League games, the numbers give West Ham faithful a reason to stay put.
Kudus’ longest goal-scoring drought lasted for nine games, finding the back of the net against Newcastle on March 30 to shut out that record.
Prior to his exquisite goal against City on the final day of last season, the former Ajax man had gone seven games without finding the back of the net.
However, Kudus has not been the only player who is yet to find his feet this term, as the entire West Ham team have struggled to adjust to life under new boss Julen Lopetegui.
Despite conducting smart business in the summer, including capturing Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luis Guilherme, Crysencio Summerville, Max Kilman and Niclas Füllkrug, West Ham have one win in four league outings.
The Hammers are six points worse off at this same stage of the season (in comparison to last season), with Mohammed Kudus and his teammates looking to lay down a marker in the forthcoming London derby against Chelsea on Saturday.
By Andrews Sefa Bamfo
