When times are tough at any club, there are always reports of player unrest and players who want out of the situation.
It’s no different this season with West Ham. Several players have been linked with January exits, while others are reportedly targets for rival clubs.
The likes of Danny Ings and Vladimir Coufal, both of whom have seen their gametime severely limited under Julen Lopetegui this season, are regularly linked with moves away from London Stadium in January.
Meanwhile, there’s talk of the club already deciding Carlos Soler’s loan from PSG will not be made permanent come the end of the season.
And then there’s Lucas Paqueta, whose off field issues have impacted his on field performances this term, being linked with a move back to Brazil.
Now it’s Mohammed Kudus who is making transfer headlines, but this one will hurt fans the most.
The Ghana captain has not been his usual self this season and the out of character nature of his red card against Tottenham last month suggested something has been troubling the forward ever since Lopetegui replaced David Moyes in the summer.
Indeed, he has been heavily blamed for Ghana’s failure to qualify for the African Cup of Nations recently, which will no doubt have affected him, but his struggles in claret and blue have also been well documented.
With just two goals and one assist in his first 10 games of the season, Kudus has been far less industrious in front of goal for the Hammers, which many are putting down to Lopetegui’s tactics.
But whatever it is, it has reportedly led to him wanting to leave the club. That’s according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri who, in a recent column for Sky Sports, claimed that Kudus is now ‘actively looking to leave West Ham.’
Both Liverpool and Arsenal have been linked with the 24-year-old’s signature in the past and if both remain interested in signing him, it would be difficult for the Hammers to stand in the way given they can both offer him Champions League football.
However, it’s believed West Ham will be refusing to accept anything less than his £85m release clause. Whether that might put off any potential suitors when the time comes remains to be seen, but there would be very good reason for any club to try and drive down that price given his current form.
Either way, it’s a serious concern for West Ham if the reports are correct. Regardless of his current form, Kudus remains an integral member of this Hammers squad and we should be doing everything we can to try and resolve the situation so that he’s happy in east London and is no longer looking elsewhere for that happiness.
