Kudus (L), Johnson (M) and Dejan (R) will be playing together at Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur’s latest signing Mohammed Kudus has only just arrived in North London.
But the challenge facing him is already clear: if he wants to start regularly under Thomas Frank, he’ll have to outshine two players who know exactly what it takes to deliver in a Spurs shirt, Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson.
Spurs already have Kulusevski and Johnson patrolling their flanks, each offering something different.
Now, Kudus arrives to test if raw dribbling power and fearless direct play can push him ahead in a three-way battle that the numbers and his story so far lay bare.
The numbers, tracked by Opta, show exactly what Kudus brings to the contest and what he still has to prove.
Two years ago, Kudus was Europe’s under-the-radar sensation. In Ajax colours, he turned heads in the Champions League group stages.
When the Dutch side fell early, Kudus sparkled, directly involved in six goals in six games and scoring that stunner at Anfield that rattled Liverpool’s crossbar.
He was suddenly on the lists of Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton, but it was West Ham who won the race.
At West Ham, he showed exactly why. His debut season under David Moyes was everything the Hammers hoped for: eight goals, six assists, West Ham’s Goal of the Season award for that solo run against Freiburg in Europe and Gary Neville crowning him the Premier League’s best newcomer.
He was fearless, he was unpredictable, exactly the profile Spurs hope to unlock again.
Then came the drop. Graham Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui last winter, and Kudus fell out of rhythm in a system that didn’t suit him.
Shoved forward as a striker, pushed deeper as a wing-back, anything but his natural role out wide. The result? Just five league goals and three assists in his final campaign at the London Stadium, despite playing over 2,600 minutes.
So, how does he stand against his new rivals now?
Last season, Kulusevski and Johnson were no passengers. Opta’s data shows all three were regulars:
Kudus played 32 games for West Ham, Kulusevski matched him with 32 for Spurs, while Johnson featured in 33.
Kudus clocked the most minutes, 2,601 to Kulusevski’s 2,391 and Johnson’s 2,179, but the end product is where he fell short.
Johnson found the net 11 times, more than double Kudus’ five. Kulusevski bagged seven. Even on assists, Kulusevski edged ahead with four to Kudus’ three, Johnson matching the Ghanaian there.
But for all that, raw output isn’t Kudus’ main selling point. It’s what he does before the final ball that sets him apart.
In the 2024/25 season, he attempted an eye-watering 6.8 dribbles per 90 minutes, miles ahead of Kulusevski’s 4.5 and Johnson’s modest 1.8.
He completed over three dribbles per match on average, more than double Kulusevski and four times Johnson’s rate.
When it comes to simply grabbing the ball and forcing defences backward, Kudus is unrivalled.
He also carried the ball with intent. On average, Kudus logged just over 15 carries per 90, on par with Kulusevski’s 15.5 but well ahead of Johnson’s 8.1.
But in the cold light of chance creation, Kulusevski takes the crown. The Swede carved out 2.5 chances for teammates every 90 minutes, more than double Kudus’ 1.1. Johnson was lowest here at 0.8, but his clinical finishing more than covered the gap.
So, Spurs’ frontline equation is clear. Kudus is the dribbler, the chaos factor who breaks lines and pulls defenders out of shape.
Kulusevski is the clever link, the player who can thread passes where others see dead ends. Johnson is the finisher, the direct outlet who turns good attacks into goals.
Thomas Frank will know this. Kudus is not here to replace Kulusevski’s vision or Johnson’s finishing overnight.
He’s here to offer something different and to make both men better by pushing them for minutes they once took for granted.
If Kudus can find his Ajax-level directness and rediscover his first-season efficiency, Spurs’ wide areas could look very different by Christmas.
FKA/EB
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