Mohammed Kudus: Elite Dribbling Brings New Dimension to Tottenham

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Tottenham Hotspur lacked an elite dribbler until they completed the signing of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham this week. We assess what he could bring to north London.

Why are Spurs signing Kudus?

The short answer is simple. They don't have much in the way of exceptional dribblers, and new manager Thomas Frank clearly wants to add one to their attack.

Kudus is a genuinely elite dribbler. Only Jeremy Doku of Manchester City completed more dribbles (107) in the Premier League last season than Kudus (92). On a per-90 basis, too, only Doku (6.4) could better Kudus (3.2) among players with at least 1,000 minutes under their belt.

It's also noteworthy that Doku was playing for a team who saw a hell of a lot more of the ball and did a hell of a lot more attacking than Kudus' West Ham. Doku averaged 71.9 touches of the ball per 90, while Kudus had just 52.2.

Aggressive Dribbling Style

Kudus looks to beat a man remarkably often. He admits that he can't help but try and take the ball into space as soon as he gets it. As he told The Athletic last year: "When I see space with the ball at my feet, I don't care what's in front of me. I have to go for it."

Last season, he attempted more dribbles (195) than any other player in the Premier League. Dribble attempts made up 12.9% of his on-ball actions. His dribble success rate of 47.2% was on the higher side among the most active dribblers in the league.

For comparison - Dejan Kulusevski was the only one of the 22 players to attempt 100+ dribbles who played for Spurs, and he had the worst dribble success rate of the lot – 31.9%.

Premier League Adaptation

So, in Kudus, Tottenham are getting a high-volume, high-output dribbler, and one who is up to speed with the Premier League, having spent the last two years at West Ham. That was largely a successful time, although his most recent season, when he scored five Premier League goals and added three assists, was underwhelming compared to his debut campaign in England, when he scored eight goals and got six assists.

West Ham wasn't a very fun place to be by the end of 2024-25, and reports suggest a sale was necessary to fund the rebuild Graham Potter requires.

Tactical Value for Spurs

The opportunity to play in the UEFA Champions League once again was undoubtedly alluring, and so too was the chance to play in a team who dominate the ball more. A team who could get the ball to Kudus more often. Not since his impressive 2022-23 campaign at Ajax that convinced West Ham to pay almost £40 million to sign him has he played for a possession-dominant team.

While Kudus is a transitional threat and he did well enough in a West Ham side who largely attacked on the transition, he will surely do better in a team who dominate territory. His exceptional dribbling and ability to wriggle out of tight spaces should help Tottenham break down low blocks more effectively than they did under Ange Postecoglou.

Different Profile of Attacker

He is a different profile of attacker to anyone else at Spurs. Tottenham players attempted more dribbles than those of any other team in the Premier League last season (790), but they ranked ninth for successful dribbles (308), with the worst dribble success rate in the league (39.0%).

None of the top 20 players for successful dribbles per 90 in the Premier League last season played for Spurs, whose most prolific dribblers were full-back Djed Spence (1.9 successful dribbles per 90) and the now-departed and largely ineffective Timo Werner (1.8).

Expectations and Future

Under Postecoglou, Spurs sought to release their quick wingers down the flanks to put low balls across the face of goal. They scored a lot of goals playing that way, but they also chucked too many men forward with every attack and struggled to balance attack with defence.

Someone like Kudus, who can beat his opponent more effectively than any of his new teammates, should theoretically reduce the need for so many players to pile forward, and therefore might even help improve Spurs' woeful defensive record.

The truth is, however, that Kudus didn't have the best 2024-25 season and, as well as being able to dribble past players, Spurs will obviously want end product from their new £55m man.

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The club will hope Frank's history of improving forwards such as Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney and Yoane Wissa means he can unlock the best of Kudus. Most likely, he will play on the right wing, where he is most comfortable and can utilize his left foot when shooting.

Thank you to Stats Perform for providing the data and photographs.

More information: 24live.com