David Moyes to axe Mohammed Kudus after claiming unwanted Premier League record for West Ham United v Everton
David Moyes could be set to axe Mohammed Kudus from the starting lineup after he claimed an unwanted record for West Ham against Everton on Sunday (29 October).
Analytics company WhoScored tweeted on Sunday that the 23-year-old forward was dispossessed on eight occasions – the most of any Premier League player this season – for the Hammers in their 1-0 defeat against the Toffees.
The Ghanaian international was making his first league start for the Irons since making his big-money move from Ajax over the summer.
Kudus has been waiting patiently to be named in the starting lineup after impressing in some brief cameos and in his performances in the Europa League.
He was brought in to replace Tomas Soucek as Moyes went for a more attacking lineup, with the new arrival playing in behind forward Michail Antonio.
The fact that he was dispossessed eight times definitely isn’t a stat that he will be too proud of, but it doesn’t really tell the true story of his display across the afternoon.
He had a bright start to the game and was one of the few Hammers players who looked to make things happen, getting on the ball as much as possible and taking risks in the final third.
Perhaps the Ghanaian should have been smarter at times with his decision-making, but he mostly gave possession away when there weren’t too many other options available and he was forced to do things on his own.
It seems pretty likely that Kudus will lose his place in the starting lineup again, though, as Moyes is likely to play it a bit safer on the back of the defeat to Everton.
Whether that will be for the Carabao Cup game against Arsenal on Wednesday (1 November) is anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back on the bench when we return to Premier League action on Saturday (4 November).
That doesn’t feel like the best approach because he needs game time and the Irons boss should be trying to find a way to get him into the team moving forward.
In other West Ham news, an £8million development has emerged in the club’s bid to sign Kalvin Phillips.