BBC pundit says 23-year-old West Ham man will now be pushing to start on Saturday
West Ham United eased past Lincoln City in the EFL Cup last night with Mohammed Kudus producing a fine performance.
Speaking on the Football Daily Podcast, pundit Stephen Kelly was raving about the 23-year-old.
David Moyes will be pleased that his side have progressed but have preferred to have done so by a wider scoreline.
They had to wait until the 70th minute before they opened the scoring before Tomas Soucek.
Moyes picked a rotated side but it still included plenty of very good players.
Konstantinos Mavropanos made his first start for the club and will be delighted to have come away with a clean sheet.
Ivorian winger Maxwel Cornet returned to the side too on his 27th birthday.
However, the start of the show for West Ham against Lincoln was Mohammed Kudus.
It’s no surprise that the man who impressed in the Champions League last season was on top in a match against a League One side.
Moyes now has to seriously consider giving Kudus his first Premier League start at the weekend.
Kudus stars for West Ham vs Lincoln
Reviewing the match on the Football Daily Podcast, Stephen Kelly said: “[Mohammed] Kudus really stood out, I think he’s going to be one that pushes for that first team in the next few weeks or so.
“He’s going to be an influential player for them over the course of the next season.
“Players like that just stand out. The little things they do, the movement, the shoulders, the scanning off the ball.
“When he received it, even if he was on the blindside, he would still get himself in a good body position, manipulating the ball into a place where he would draw a foul.
“And then the pace and the injection of pace when he started driving with it, he was playing in like central midfield off the front and then he went out to the right-wing position.
“He was the best player on the pitch, the most talented player on the pitch and someone that I’m looking forward to seeing more of in the Premier League.”
Facing Lincoln is unlikely to be the toughest test Kudus faces in a West Ham shirt this season.
Moyes has already been raving about the 23-year-old, while the Ghanaian has already grown very close to one teammate who’s yet to play this season.
Helping Kudus settle in at the London Stadium needs to be a priority for the club.
If they can help him reach his potential he could end up being one of the best signings of the summer.
