Black Stars forward Mohammed Kudus has insisted on retaining the iconic number 10 shirt despite calls for him to drop it.
The West Ham United midfielder will continue wearing the shirt as he aims to take on a key role in the team.
According to Joy Sports, Kudus stated that the shirt was handed to him by head coach Otto Addo, and therefore, he will continue to wear it.
Mohammed Kudus, who traditionally wears the number 20 for the Black Stars, donned the number 10 jersey for the first time during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The winger faced backlash for accepting the shirt, which was previously worn by skipper André Ayew, who has not retired from the team yet.
Some critics also attributed his poor performances in the qualifiers to wearing the number 10 jersey.
Ghanaian legend Mohammed Polo, who once wore the iconic shirt, warned Kudus to stop wearing it if he is not spiritually prepared to handle the challenges that come with it.
“We all remember what Kwadwo Asamoah said some time ago about the number 10 shirt—the dreams he was having and everything. If Kudus is not strong spiritually, he should stop wearing the number 10 jersey and return to his number 20 because there is a lot of weight in that jersey,” Polo said.
Despite the controversy, it appears the West Ham United star will continue to wear the number 10 shirt for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
EE/EK
Meanwhile watch GhanaWeb’s breakdown of the uproar triggered by Jamie Carragher’s comments on the AFCON and Mo Salah below:
