Tottenham Hotspur’s summer signing Mohammed Kudus showed exactly why he was worth £55million in Tuesday’s Champions League victory.
Spurs beat Villarreal 1-0 upon their return to the competition, with Lucas Bergvall scoring the only goal in the tie in front of a reduced Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd.
Bergvall was praised by Wayne Rooney among other pundits for his Player of The Match winning Champions League debut.
But it was Kudus who actually topped his side’s progressive statistics in the clash – and his teammates didn’t even come close.
Mohammed Kudus tops all of Tottenham’s progressive stats against Villarreal
Kudus signed from Tottenham’s rivals West Ham this summer, joining on a six-year deal. He grabbed two assists against Burnley in the opening day 3-0 win, but hasn’t made any goal contributions since.
However, when looking at his stats against Villarreal, Kudus clearly provided a real threat on the wing.
He topped progressive carries, progressive passes and progressive passes received.
| Statistic | |
| Progressive carries | 8 |
| Progressive passes | 6 |
| Progressive passes received | 9 |
Bergvall, meanwhile, made five progressive carries, the second highest in the Tottenham team. Pedro Porro made the same number of progressive passes as Kudus, while Djed Spence received five progressive passes.
Thomas Frank will have been pleased to see previous rave reviews about Kudus are manifesting themselves at Spurs.
Former West Ham coach recognised Mohammed Kudus’ ‘on the ball’ abilities before Premier League move
Speaking to the media in 2023, former West Ham coach John Heitinga, then at Ajax, said on Kudus: “We know he has exceptional qualities.
“It’s up to me and the staff to make him even better, especially without the ball. On the ball, he can pass a man, create a man advantage, provide assists, and score.”
Spurs showed love to Kudus’ abilities on X on Tuesday, posting snaps of him breezing past Villarreal’s defenders.
He will be hoping to add to his opening day goal contributions away at Brighton this weekend.
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