David Moyes makes right call with Mohammed Kudus as early West Ham United team news v Aston Villa emerges
West Ham United return to action following the international break with a very tricky challenge against Aston Villa.
Villa Park plays host to the Premier League clash on Sunday (22 October), with both clubs flying high in the competition.
Unai Emery’s men currently occupy fifth place in the table with 16 points, two places and two points ahead of David Moyes’s side.
The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio will need to keep up their top performances if the visitors want to come out on top.
But one player that could make the difference is summer signing Mohammed Kudus, with Moyes confirming that the attacker is “very close” to making his first start on Sunday, according to the official West Ham website (20 October).
While it would be a very difficult decision regarding who to drop, it would certainly make sense for the Ghana international to start given his start to life in claret and blue.
He has been in fantastic form since joining from Ajax, with the 23-year-old already netting twice for the club, one of which was a late equaliser against Newcastle United last time out.
Kudus could, however, be used from the bench by Moyes given the player’s recent exploits on the international stage, with the attacker starting both of his country’s matches in the international break.
He will undoubtedly be fatigued, but that will be the case for many of his Hammers teammates, and indeed many of his upcoming opponents.
The summer arrival did, however, travel further than many others, playing for Ghana in friendlies against Mexico and the USA in the United States.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers are currently in the hunt to sign one Bundesliga ace, with a £35million fee needed to seal a deal for the player.