Julen Lopetegui lifts lid on Mohammed Kudus talks after West Ham United incident v Tottenham
Julen Lopetegui has confirmed he has held talks with Mohammed Kudus after his red card in West Ham United’s defeat to Tottenham.
The Ghana international will miss the Hammers’ clash with Manchester United on Sunday (27 October) and matches against Nottingham Forest and Everton before the November international break.
Although Lopetegui admitted the forward’s absence would be a blow, he insists that sort of incident will not happen again having spoken to Kudus following the scuffle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
As quoted by the Evening Standard on Friday (25 October) he said: “Unfortunately Kudus is going to be out for three matches because his behaviour was not good and he knows that.
“He knows he has to improve because this can’t happen. I hope it’s the last time this happens. I’m sure it is not going to happen [again].
“I talked with him and sometimes you don’t have to talk a lot about this kind of situation because he knows it was a mistake. I say, for sure, that he will learn about this incident and his behaviour will handle this better in the future.”
How long will West Ham ace Mohammed Kudus be banned at the London Stadium?
As Lopetegui suggests, Kudus was never going to take much convincing that what he did was wrong. Anyone who has ever played or watched football at any level, barring Ally McCoist initially, will have felt the Ghana international deserved a red card.
It was clear that the Hammers star’s reaction was one of frustration after what has been an incredibly difficult start to the Premier League season for Lopetegui’s side.
Although the former Ajax man needs to find a way to manage his frustration better, that sort of attitude is what makes him such a force to be reckoned with.
He never knows when he is beaten and that makes him capable of pulling off moments of genuine magic.
Hopefully, his three-game suspension will give him plenty of time to refocus and compose himself before returning after the international break.
West Ham will need him at his best to get their campaign back on track after a less-than-impressive start.
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