There is no doubting who West Ham’s best player is nowadays but it’s been a difficult start to the new season for Mohammed Kudus.
West Ham fans absolutely love Mohammed Kudus and are already sweating about losing him next summer.
From time to time a player comes along who is so good that it stings that little bit more when they do leave.
The 24-year-old has been a revelation for the Hammers since signing from Ajax last summer.
That now looks like an absolute steal at £38.5m with Kudus’ £85m West Ham release clause even looking cheap.
Kudus got 14 goals and six assists in all competitions for West Ham in his debut season.
Picture shows why West Ham star boy Kudus struggles for Ghana
But it’s been a strange start to the new campaign for Kudus under Julen Lopetegui.
Kudus is yet to score so far for the new-look Hammers having been put on the left-hand side of the attack.
The man with a Maradona-esque centre of gravity and dribbling ability has done everything but.
Lopetegui’s use of Kudus so far has sparked fierce debate among West Ham fans.
Kudus has made it clear he prefers to play a central attacking midfield role. And that’s where most West Ham fans want to see him too.
Especially with Lucas Paqueta failing to impress at the moment.
New embarrassment for Hammers hero with Black Stars
There is a feeling the goals are coming for Kudus at West Ham in the Premier League.
But if the Hammers were hoping he might get a confidence boost when he went off to play for his national team then they will be left sorely disappointed.
Given Kudus’ performances for West Ham in the best league in the world and in Europe, Kudus is understandably the big hope in his home country.
Ghana were dumped out of the African Nations back in January despite the heroics of Kudus, who was like a one-man team at times.
The Black Stars scraped a 4-3 win over Central African Republic in World Cup qualifying over the summer but Kudus’ performance was criticised by some of the country’s fans on social media.
Some supporters stated that the West Ham star was overhyped, selfish on the ball and was not playing like he did for the Hammers.
That incensed him and Kudus responded to some of the critical posts on social media.
Now a picture shows why West Ham star boy Kudus struggles for Ghana.
There was fresh embarrassment for the Black Stars when they lost 1-0 at home to Angola in their first qualifier for the next African Nations.
Unprotected Kudus being torn to pieces with Ghana
Kudus was played in his preferred central role but a bit like with West Ham at the moment, he failed to find the back of the net despite all his hard work on and off the ball.
Ghana Web gave Kudus a 6/10 for his performance and praised him for dropping deep to try and drag his team forward. But they also accused Kudus of holding on to the ball for too long ‘unnecessarily’.
There was similar criticism on social media from some with accusations Kudus is not replicating his West Ham form for the national team.
But besides being surrounded – bar Antoine Semenyo and Thomas Partey – by far inferior players when he meets up with Ghana, there’s another big reason for Kudus’ struggles with the national team.
A lack of protection from officials.
Anyone who watched the African Nations will know referees let a lot go that would be penalised in the European game.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing with many people saying it makes African football more enjoyable to watch.
But an attacking star like Kudus needs a level of protection from the referee if he is to shine.
The picture below shows exactly why the Hammers star is struggling in a Ghana shirt.
Because he’s quite literally having it ripped off his back as the opposition target him.
Best players need officials to do their job in order to shine
Highlights from the game show Kudus constantly being rough-housed, fouled and dragged down when trying to build an attack.
The best attacking players usually get protected by the officials. After all they are big reason people watch football in the first place.
Kudus is as strong as an ox and never plays on fouls. So while very admirable, that probably doesn’t help him in many ways.
It must fill West Ham with dread when their prize asset heads off to represent Ghana knowing some of the challenges that are flying around at times.
But reports out of Ghana suggest Kudus is unscathed in terms of injury despite getting special attention from the Angolans.
The Hammers and the club’s fans will be keeping everything crossed when Kudus lines up for Ghana again away at Niger on Monday night.
He’ll then return to east London ahead of the weekend’s game at Fulham.
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