I’m not sure he yet has the passing/vision of a top 10, but he does have the skill and close control.
Mohammed Kudus
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2nd percentile for dispossessed doesn't bode well for his retention from carrying.
A player with his profile will get dispossessed from time to time due to the nature of his play style. But from what I've seen, his ability to dribble, evade pressure and contribute from the Middle to final third will open up plenty of space potentially and create overloads and numerical advantages.
If I'm not mistaken, he's been utilised in several positions from CM, AM, RW and forward. And that also should be considered when looking at stats imo.
I think his best position is as the AM. I think that role brings the best out of both his ability to dribble centrally and combine and connect with team mates in rondos.
I think his best position is as the AM. I think that role brings the best out of both his ability to dribble centrally and combine and connect with team mates in rondos.
If we end up buying him, I hope he does bring those benefits. But as I said, that would mean less to no chances for Mejbri and Amad.
I can see him working well in a team where the front three are there to create as well as finish. He’d add a nice little bit of attacking variation to the team, which would make a nightmare for opposing teams who will park the bus and sit deep. At the moment, we’re a little predictable with Rashford being the only worthy goal threat in open play.
I don't think he is the right profile to buy. He would surely bring the physicality and energy that could be different from what we have, but other than that he seems to feel like an Arsenal type of player. We gotta spend the money elsewhere and CAM is the least priority alongside LB and LW.
We already have Amad whom is doing very well on loan in ENGLAND!
Let’s put an end to this nonsense.
Let’s put an end to this nonsense.
They play in different positions, though? We need competition and a young, rotational option for Bruno.
We need a striker, cover for DM and a ball carrier from midfield.
Kudus seems to fit the last spot.
Kudus seems to fit the last spot.
I like him a lot but in terms of ball retention, he isn't doing well at all.
Surprisingly, he is also not very productive when it comes to end product.
Let's see. If we get him though, that's almost the end of Mejbri/Amad hopes for a place in the squad next season.
Edit: all screenshots are last 365 days compared to top 5 leagues.
FBREF don’t track the Eredivisie, so it’s his Champions League and Europa League performances compared to other players league performances plus those two competitions. If you look at his CL performances as compared to other players in the same competition, he looks somewhat better.
https://fbref.com/en/players/b62878a5/scout/11454/Kudus-Mohammed-Scouting-Report
A player who attempts more take-ons is bound to be dispossessed more and therefore have a greater raw number of dispossessions. He’s in the 82nd percentile for take-ons attempted in this year’s Champions League and his tackled during take-on percentage is 17.6% which puts him in the 88th percentile. As such, he looks very secure under pressure, which matches what the eye test would tell me. His pass completion is also 90th percentile.
Edit: his dispossessions could also come from the fact that his back to goal play is potentially weaker than a conventional striker, to whom he’s being compared by FBREF, as the comparison is against forwards, rather than attacking midfielders.
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I agree with everything you said, although one might argue that his stats from Champions League and Europa League are more relevant due to the opposition strength, but it's not a big deal.
You are right about dispossessed stats too. The more you try, the more you'll fail, that's part of the game.
Also, don't get me wrong, I really like Kudus. He is very impressive and I think he could be great, but I'm also wary that Premier League defenders are so, so, so much better than Eredivisie defenders and he will have a hard time dribbling here.
So many dribblers have failed to perform in the Premier League, and he could easily be the next one.
I have no dog in this fight, so to speak. I’m not sure where he’d play for us and I haven’t seen enough of him to have an opinion either way on whether he’d be a good signing.
I guess the point I was making is that the stats can be somewhat misleading without context. The comparison is unfavourable for him as it allows other players to include their performances against weaker opposition in domestic leagues.
He appears to be a very good Champions League level dribbler, with not much in the way of expected goals and assists (in the same competition) but on a hot personal and teammate finishing streak.
On the signing itself, I have no idea, principally because only Ten Hag knows how he’d use him.
We need a playmaker so much more than the latter two
Dunno about that, some Casemiro cover and someone to take the ball upfield from deep would be on my list after a striker. A playmaker would be 4th for me.
Casemiro, Bruno, Eriksen, Antony seem to be enough creativity for now.
Creativity and playmaking are two different things. Bruno for example is great at a though pass but is likely to misplace 10 other passes. Can’t see how cover for a starter is more important than a first 11 requirement.
Because we still create chances without a playmaker but we are defensively wide open when Casemiro isn’t playing.
Anyway different strokes and all that..
So Kudus doesn’t fit the bill for you?
Would be such a no brainer not to go for him if we can get him for a reasonable price. Looking at the games he has played he should be able to cover RE, CF and AM positions for us even though AM is his preferred position, a joker like him and still being this young is just no brainer not to go after
Only issue is I can see Ajax rinsing us after the Antony fee.
40m for Kudus would be money well spent and we'd be foolish not to push to bring him to the club
This season they do, actually. https://fbref.com/en/players/b62878a5/scout/11629/Kudus-Mohammed-Scouting-Report
Thank you for the correction, it must have happened when they swapped data sources from StatsBomb to Opta.
40m? Does he have a release clause or something?
no...that was the suggested fee claimed back in the summer
that fee wasn't realistic last summer anyway. Probably the fee a club would want to pay, not the fee Ajax would accept
what do you think it would take to get him? 60m?
We have Amad that can play as an AM and he is doing just fine at the moment.
Has Ajax become our new charity over Dortmund now??
Has Ajax become our new charity over Dortmund now??
After the World Cup and his current form 60 seems a little low.
Respectfully, you need to remember who you are. Ajax is not a ‘if you want our best players you need to pay market value’ club. Simply ‘keeping the player’ is not your strategy. All your talented players leave by way of an agreement with the club on an agreed timeline. Kudus was denied a move last summer and probably already assured that he will be allowed back to leave this one. Antony left ahead of agreed schedule, but even if he’d stayed and had a great season, Ajax wouldn’t have demanded 100m for him this summer. De Ligt and De Jong left for reasonable fees as they were on the agreed timeline - and those fees were Ajax’ biggest sales before Antony.
I don’t see Ajax insisting on outlandish money for Kudus. If this summer was the summer already agreed upon, then I don’t think he’d cost more than 60m personally.
60m is not a reasonable fee for Kudus in my opinion. Just like it wouldn't be a reasonable fee for De Ligt or De Jong. They went for a bit more. Besides Kudus only wanted to leave because he wasn't getting playing time, not because he was ready for it, so it's not the same situation
i think it'll be tough to get more than 60m unless that is addons but ajax does hold all the cards b/c of his contract
he would be an alternative player to purchase if we don't spend big on a #9 and went for a guy who might cost less like Ramos which would allow us to spend on Kudus as well
he would be an alternative player to purchase if we don't spend big on a #9 and went for a guy who might cost less like Ramos which would allow us to spend on Kudus as well
Sometimes he looks very technical and sometimes looks very tough but rough like Essien playing at CAM/False 9
we signed him in my dream last night
45m plus some add-ons, good deal
45m plus some add-ons, good deal
Kudus open to extend with Ajax. Thank feck for that.
I'm in the camp of giving Amad and Mejbri a proper chance. ETH is a fantastic developer of young talent...why not allow him to develop these two incredible young talents?
To add a little context, the goal against Napoli was the 1-6 home defeat where the ball ricocheted off him as it was going in the net
This was a good watch. He could be a striker or a 10 or a right winger or a right sided CM in a midfield three.
Lots of raw potential, think he would be a better fit for arsenal than us.
He play s at Ajax hanging on the right while being able to switch with Berghuis who plays on 8 and in an interview today he explains why he feels most comfortable in that position. It gives him the freedom to roam and use his dribbling best.
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