Alan Shearer heaps praise on Mohammed Kudus after goal for West Ham United v Newcastle
Alan Shearer has heaped praise on West Ham star Mohammed Kudus after the Ghanaian scored a late equaliser in the Premier League clash with Newcastle on 8 October.
The Newcastle legend praised the new arrival at the London Stadium for his impact off the bench in the 2-2 draw, as well as tipping his hat to David Moyes for making the change when he did.
Kudus scored in the 89th minute of the game with a drilled finish past Nick Pope, and his substitution allowed West Ham to regain control of the game having been dominated for the majority of the second half.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast [10 October, 12:15], Shearer described the events of Sunday’s game to co-hosts Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, saying: “Second half they [Newcastle] came out and they were a different team, ten or 15 yards further up the pitch, had loads more energy and were miles the better team for 40 minutes of that half.
“Got two very good goals and Isak went through one-on-one to make it 3-1 and get his hat trick, and he hit the post. If that goes in it’s different.
“But then David Moyes makes a great substitution, Kudus I think came on, great, he looked brilliant when he came on and scored a fantastic goal, so it was probably a fair result.”
He should be starting games
With Kudus’ recent performances and ability starting to gain admiration from the wider media in sports broadcasting, it seems only a matter of time until he is starting regularly in Moyes’ side rather than being limited to cameo appearances from the bench.
The issue could be that, having scored from the bench and changed that particular game, Moyes could now see Kudus as a game-changing option to call on from his bench, rather than somebody who would influence the game from the start.
His performances in the Europa League when he has started games have been impressive, which is hopefully something that can inspire Moyes to make a positive change.
Michail Antonio has struggled of late and could be the one to make way, with Jarrod Bowen moving into a more central but fluid attacking role, while Kudus finds his role out wide on the right, able to cut in onto his strong left foot.
In other West Ham news, a journalist shared what Hammers players are saying about one new arrival.