Mohamed Kudus and his Tottenham teammates celebrating a goal (Image: Getty Images)
Roberto De Zerbi may have just won the ticket in Tottenham’s bid to remain in the Premier League. Spurs are just one point clear of the bottom three, with a significant gap on goal difference, and could be dragged into the relegation zone if they lose to Sunderland this weekend.
Spurs are yet to record a win in England’s top flight this year, so the Italian tasked with keeping Spurs afloat will be desperate to grab all three points at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon. To make matters worse for Tottenham, West Ham have the chance to put even more pressure on their rivals.
The Hammers could set the tempo on Friday night when they travel to Molineux to take on Wolves. Even if Tottenham concede in the relegation battle, they are expected to have several high-profile players back in the match-day squad before the end of the season, including Mohamed Kudus.
The 25-year-old winger is expected to return to action later this month after sustaining a hamstring injury in January. Kudus was spotted taking part in first-team training ahead of Tottenham’s match against the Black Cats.
His return to the matchday squad is a big boost, but manager Igor Tudor has previously suggested the Ghanaian international will not be fit until the end of April, when Spurs travel to face Wolves at Molineux on Saturday, April 25.
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The former caretaker manager has suggested a deadline for Kudus to return is 10 days from the first day after the international break. If that happens, he will miss the games against Sunderland and Brighton.
However, it remains unclear when Kudus will be available, and De Zerbi is expected to provide clarification when addressing the media on Friday afternoon. When the Italian decides that now is the right time, he will play his trump card.
The Ghanaian, who Tottenham signed from West Ham for £55m in the summer, has made an impressive start in north London, scoring one goal and providing five assists in his opening seven Premier League games. Kudus pushed Spurs into third place.
Mohamed Kudus will be out for three months with injury and hopes to return soon to Tottenham Hotspur (Image: Getty)
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Even when the forward injured his hamstring during the draw with Sunderland, he left Spurs just a few points from safety in mid-table. Kudus has been a ray of hope for Tottenham and it is no coincidence that they have fallen into the relegation zone in his absence.
According to Statmuse, only three players have dribbled more successfully in the Premier League this season than Kudus, 51, despite spending the past three months injured. Jeremy Doku (59) is at the top of the rankings, followed by Yankuba Minte (55) and Iliman Ndiaye (54).
The Tottenham winger will undoubtedly emerge as a key figure for De Zerbi during the run-in. In his first interview as Spurs manager last week, he laid out his immediate vision for Kudus and the rest of the squad.
“I love keeping the ball,” De Zerbi said. “I love possession, I love great chances to score, but I also love 11 defenders when you don’t have the ball, because in this era of football you have to attack with 11 players, including the goalkeeper, and when the ball is not in your hands you have to defend with 11 players.”
“At the moment we don’t have time to work on more principles, but we have to understand what we have to do on the pitch. We have to have good organization when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball.”
“We have to take into account the quality of the players. We are lucky – I am lucky – because we have big players with great talent and my job is to help them develop their qualities.”
