It was an extremely underwhelming season for West Ham United last time out as a low 14th spot in the Premier League pile had to be stomached.
The Hammers would finish in a far more impressive ninth spot the season before, with a Europa League quarter-final even coming their way. But, this short-term success just couldn’t be sustained, leading to David Moyes losing his job, only for Graham Potter to struggle in equal measure when taking on the London Stadium hot seat.
There will be a hope that Potter can turn around West Ham’s fortunes as he prepares for his first full season at the helm, but he will have to try and add to his meagre five wins in charge of the Iron without Mohammed Kudus at his disposal, with the once popular Ghanaian defecting over to enemy lines to join Tottenham Hotspur for £55m.
That £55m injection to the Hammers’ bank account will no doubt be put to good use, especially as Potter and Co chase down an immediate replacement for Kudus.
West Ham make enquiries over £30m ace
Away from looking for replacements for the ex-Ajax attacker, it looks as if that bumper amount will help the Iron bolster all over the pitch this summer, with a move for Slavia Prague’s El Hadji Malick Diouf to join the East London side edging ever closer to completion.
Moreover, it is also being reported that Harvey Elliott is on West Ham’s radar as a potential midfield option, but there is another move in the pipeline that will seriously excite the Hammers faithful as they attempt to sweep this Kudus saga quickly under the rug.
As per French outlet L’Equipe, West Ham have now been in contact with Leicester City to make an enquiry concerning the availability of Bilal El Khannous. They are joined by both Sunderland and AS Monaco in the race to sign the promising Foxes gem.
Recently on Arsenal’s shopping list for around the £30m ballpark, this would be a significant move on West Ham’s end in trying to win an ideal replacement for Kudus, with the Moroccan attacker ready to explode into life even more in the Premier League.
Why El Khannous could be a dream Kudus replacement
Whilst Kudus did suffer from an off-season last campaign by his high standards – with only eight of his 32 overall goal contributions for Potter’s men coming across the 2024/25 season – he will still be a big hole for West Ham to fill, considering Lucas Paqueta is now the only recognisable number 10 in the Hammers camp currently.
Moreover, there is only really Jarred Bowen who can cause damage down the right now with Kudus off to Spurs, and whilst El Khannouss might not be the most instantly exciting signing when you view his recent relegation blemish, he could be just the versatile spark West Ham need to stitch up their wounds.
Amazingly, despite Kudus costing £55m to sign, El Khannouss would match his ex-West Ham counterpart when looking at their numbers from last season, as a standout three goals and five assists came the 21-year-old’s way, even as the Foxes fell back down to the EFL in depressing fashion.
On top of that, El Khannouss, when plying his trade in Belgium with Genk, would dazzle fans of the Jupiler Pro League side – much like Kudus managed with Ajax – with his constant creativity and eye for goal.
That was notably seen in his high goals and assist tally of 18 from 94 outings. Kudus would register 21 more goal contributions for the Amsterdam giants, in contrast, but the 21-year-old will hope he can reach these Genk levels again and beyond, lining up next to the likes of Bowen in East London.
|
El Khannous’ career numbers by position |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Position played |
Games |
Goals scored |
Assists |
|
AM |
112 |
6 |
15 |
|
LW |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
LM |
3 |
1 |
2 |
|
CM |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
|||
El Khannouss might not be able to offer another electric body down the right, but he would be able to offer a similar adaptability that Kudus possessed in spades elsewhere, as seen in his promising career haul of three goals and assists when patrolling the left flank.
Once hailed as a “special” talent by football journalist Buchi Laba, on top of also being lauded as having a “killer final ball” by football analyst Ben Mattinson, it does feel as if this could be a sterling deal to secure now, particularly if the likes of Arsenal are also keen.
After all, West Ham were certainly left to feel smug snapping up Kudus when they did, as Liverpool and Newcastle also circled, with El Khannouss the next Kudus-like star who could burst into life at the London Stadium.
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