Transfer Target: Mohammed Kudus and His Fit With Arsenal
The 23-year-old transfer target had a goal in Ajax's Eredivisie opener, but just how did he play and how would he fit in Arsenal's system?
With the transfer window in Europe’s major leagues coming to a close on September 1, I figured it was a good time to start profiling some of the players that Arsenal have been linked to in recent days. That requires me to read lots of things and also watch full games to get an idea of how a player fits in not only the system he’s presently in but also potentially into Arsenal’s.
The first player we’re going to look at is 23-year-old Ajax winger Mohammed Kudus.
Arsenal has had reported interest in Kudus for a while now, and while there’s talk that Brighton is on the verge of a £34.5 million transfer swoop for Kudus, it hasn’t happened yet. Hence, let’s talk about him and see how he fits.
Kudus is an interesting player. He’s technically gifted but also a top-level athlete for his position. He uses speed and power, but he’s also extremely proficient in his technical footwork to dribble past defenders rather than just rely on his speed. Since Ajax opened their new Dutch Eredivisie campaign on Saturday, I figured it’d be a good idea to watch that full game and jot down some notes as well as compile clips on how Kudus did.
The full video is right below and highlights where Kudus is on the pitch before each clip:
According to the compiled stats for this game on Soccer Reference, Kudus managed one goal on 0.6 xG (Expected Goals) as well as 0.2 xA (Expected Assists). Kudus also had six progressive carries and two progressive passes, plus he received 14 progressive passes. He took five shots with two of them being on target, and he completed 23 of his 30 attempted passes. Kudus finished with 49 total touches in his 90 minutes.
For this match, Kudus started up top on the right but did drop centrally at times and tuck into the right half-space to allow overlaps for players on the outside.
Kudus did do a good job of maintaining width, though, whenever a teammate would fill that gap in the right half-space before he could, and he certainly has the pace to play wider at times. An interesting thing was that Kudus wouldn’t just sit out wide or sit narrow. There was variety within his game and he understood when he needed to be in certain areas of the field. The flow was nice to see.
Whenever Ajax striker Brian Brobbey would drop deep to receive the ball or run to the other side of the field opposite Kudus, the young Ghanian would fill that central gap to still offer Ajax a viable threat in the middle of the pitch that could prove to be a goal threat and connector.
You can see the offensive genius in Kudus’ game, and it’s no wonder that Arsenal are reportedly interested in him. Players that know how to move without the ball will always have a place in Mikel Arteta’s squad. It’s about thinking the game at a high level which Kudus does appear to do especially well on the offensive side of things.
One fascinating thing that jumped out in this match was that Kudus is never in the box when he’s playing with an outright striker on the field. Ajax registered 13 corners in this match. Kudus was constantly rooted just outside the box for all of them whenever Brobbey was on the field. However, when Brobbey got subbed off in the 89th minute and Kudus moved to a more central role due to Carlos Borges coming on to play on the right side, that’s when Kudus finally went into the box on a corner. Does it mean anything? Not really. It’s just a rather riveting setup.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
There were numerous times in this game when Kudus would float toward the back post as he attempted to keep width, and he routinely would call for the ball in those settings. His goal came as a result of doing just that. Kudus is an option on crosses and does feature good control whenever the ball hits his chest first. The first touch off of his feet can get a tad tricky at times it seems.
Kudus’ speed and initial burst when getting up to that speed is his saving grace and allows him to make up far more ground than one would imagine a player could. He’s always a threat for balls over the top, and having that skill to stretch defenses allows the midfielders to have more space to navigate freely in the middle of the park.
The biggest negative, at least for me, is that Kudus isn’t a defensive workhorse. Far too often in this match, he’d just slowly stroll around the pitch when Ajax were out of possession. That cannot happen if he plays at the Premier League level. There has to be a consistent work rate when out of possession, and that wasn’t evident in this one. It just seemed like a lack of interest in doing the work necessary to get the ball back. He’s a go-getter on the offensive end, but not on the defensive end even though the tools are quite clearly there.
Kudus has gone on record that he sees himself more as a midfielder than as an outright attacker, even though his numbers at both right-wing and striker, specifically in a ‘false nine’ role, are quite good. Before he got to Ajax, Kudus spent time as a midfielder and striker at Nordsjælland in Denmark. Since joining Ajax, Kudus hasn’t been featured too much in the midfield. To be perfectly honest, it’s not his best spot. Ultimately, playing him as a false nine is probably the best way to get top production out of Kudus. He’s got the skill for it.
If Arsenal are going to make a splurge for Kudus, it should be with the idea that his best fit is as a striker. He profiles very well with current Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus and that’s the type of fit they should be looking at. While his versatility likely makes him a far more intriguing option for the team since he can play four positions — box-to-box midfield, attacking midfield, right-wing, and striker — I think it would limit him. Don’t have him be a jack of all trades. Let him master one.
… BUT WHAT ABOUT A DIFFERENT AJAX MAN?
Now comes the curveball.
I don’t think Kudus is the most intriguing attacking option on this Ajax side that Arsenal should be looking at. In fact, I’ve already mentioned the guy. It’s Ajax’s striker, Brian Brobbey.
Brobbey didn’t score in this match but he sure jumped off the screen when I was taking notes. He is exactly the type of striker that Arsenal could use. Brobbey is 5-foot-11 and 172 pounds. He’s strong, fast, quick, agile, possesses great footwork, has a fantastic shot, and works extremely hard. There were numerous times throughout this game when Brobbey would track back in defense to disrupt dribblers. Truth be told, his best chance of the night came after doing that.
There was also this play which, while he didn’t score, showcases the danger Brobbey can present to the opposition every moment he’s on the pitch:
Brobbey is an excellent link-up play striker that will drop deep to pick up the ball and distribute it to both the midfield and wings. He’s excellent at holding off and pinning defenders to his back so he can receive the ball, something he even does in the box. It’s a style of play that would fit seamlessly at Arsenal. Two years ago, then-RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann compared Brobbey to Romelu Lukaku.
Last season for Ajax, Brobbey poured home 13 goals and added three assists in his 1,650 minutes in the Eredivisie. Brobbey also completed 76.4 percent of his passes and averaged 9.84 touches per 90 minutes in the attacking penalty area.
Brobbey would take some coaxing if Arsenal were to make a play for him. Brobbey was part of the Ajax youth academy for over 10 years before leaving for RB Leipzig in July 2021. The stay in Germany didn't last long as he returned to Ajax six months later on loan and then Ajax completed a full transfer for him in July 2022. That transfer cost Ajax roughly £15 million. Why pay Ajax in the realm of £35 million for Kudus when you might be able to get a better-fitting Brobbey for a tad cheaper?
THE AJAX STARLET TO WATCH
One last note from this game: be on the lookout for 17-year-old center-back Jorrel Hato. Yes, I said 17. He was the starting left center-back for Ajax in this game and showcased a wide range of skills that could make him incredibly intriguing to a lot of upper-echelon teams around the world.
While Hato isn’t the biggest center-back — his listed height varies from 5-foot-11 to six-foot — it shouldn’t matter when adjusting for the archetype, and considering Arsenal was extremely close to signing 5-foot-9 center-back Lisandro Martinez from Ajax back in 2022 before Manchester United swooped in and got him, clearly height doesn’t matter as much as skill (nor should it).
Hato will take a while to get to the top level at his position, but you can already see the pathway for him to be a big-time signing for a club down the road. Hato can play center-back or even left-back. He’s quick, fast, a great tackler, has fantastic athleticism, and reads the game well.
Give it two years and you’ll see this kid on the radar of every big club.