Mohammed Kudus returned to the story of the London derby with clear memory and blunt honesty. He opened the scoring in the 18th minute, only for Dejan Kulusevski to level before half-time. The contest was 1–1 at the break, but West Ham collapsed after the interval, conceding three goals in eight second-half minutes while substitutes watched from the touchline.

Kudus’ own involvement finished the evening. With Spurs leading 4–1, he reacted to a challenge from Micky van de Ven. “I was just fuming that game,” he said, the frustration still clear almost a year later, “and I just reacted straight away.” After sending Van de Ven to the turf and kicking the ball twice while it lay beneath his opponent, Kudus pushed the defender and also made contact with Pape Matar Sarr. The incident ended with a red card.

The aftermath could have left lingering awkwardness but the two have since moved on. “Whatever happened on the pitch stays on the pitch,” Kudus says. “It’s done and dusted after the game. It’s nice playing with him now. It’s a small world in football. So just try to patch up and move on.”

At Tottenham a clear defensive core has emerged early under Frank, with Van de Ven and captain Cristian Romero providing a solid base and Kudus operating as a roaming attacking presence. The £55 million summer signing has started life in north London by creating a team-high 12 chances across the opening five weeks of the new Premier League season, more than Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert or Richarlison managed across the entire 2024–25 campaign.

Kudus has set ambitious but straightforward targets. “Winning a trophy.” He added, “We play in almost all the competitions this season; Premier League, Champions League, all the cups in England, so winning a trophy would be a successful season,” and, “Also finishing top four also is a very reasonable challenge for us this season, qualifying for [the] next Champions League.”

Florian Wirtz has faced a difficult start at Liverpool but two respected figures have urged calm as criticism grows. Sir Kenny Dalglish and Rudi Völler have both offered public backing after Jamie Carragher suggested the summer signing should be removed from the team.

The Germany international began the season as Liverpool’s No. 10 before losing his place for the Merseyside derby against Everton. He returned on the left wing for the match against Crystal Palace and was restored to a central role for Tuesday’s defeat to Galatasaray.

Carragher warned there is an obvious problem in finding the right balance. “He has got plenty of time to go as a Liverpool player, but right now I think he needs to come out of the team,” the retired star warned, “…[for] Liverpool go back to what they were last season and then go from there and build some confidence, build some defensive solidity. Right now. it is a mess.”

Dalglish, asked about Wirtz, urged the player not to overthink the situation and said he sees the qualities that will succeed in time. “The first thing he needs to do is what he’s doing at the moment,” Dalglish said. “He’s great at taking the ball into the feet, he’ll open himself up and the pass has beat you but he’s still got control of it. Or he’ll take it the other way back past you to go that way and you’re going this way. He can see what’s in front of him, and once he gets it…”

Dalglish pointed to the potential partnership with Alexander Isak, noting conversations and training work as the foundation for on-field understanding. “I saw Isak the other day, the second half when he came on [against Everton] I think, and he’s talking to one of the boys about his movement, what he would do. And [Wirtz] is listening to him and once they get on the same wavelength… “By the way, that wee fella [Wirtz], he could open a can of soup [with his foot].” He added: “It could happen right away [for Wirtz and Isak]. For Rushy, it was training for us,” the Scot replied. “We did it in training, so that’s where you learn it first, isn’t it?”

The arrival of other summer signings has influenced the debate. Hugo Ekitiké has adapted more smoothly, and his avoidable red card against Southampton followed over-jubilant celebrations after scoring a late winner. That comparison has fed social media pressure on Wirtz.

Völler, who knows Wirtz well, urged the player to ignore outside noise. “Florian shouldn’t let himself get carried away [with what people say]. I have no concerns about that… he’ll show the English what he’s made of,” Völler told BILD.

Mohammed Kudus has built a career on patience and exacting standards. The 25-year-old arrived at Tottenham Hotspur this summer as a £55 million recruit after two years at West Ham United, but his progression began long before England. Raised in Nima, north of Accra, he found playing space on sand and credits that environment with sharpening his control. “I think on the grass pitch, receiving a ball, you automatically expect how the ball should come and bounce,” he says. “But on a sand pitch it can move anywhere. So you have to react quicker to controlling the ball … looking at it in a positive way, I think it helps in a way, if you can find your way through the sand with the bumpy ball.”

His mother, Mariam, supported the family as a street vendor and enforced strict rules at home. She “played both roles of being a mum and a dad at the same time” and left no doubt that schoolwork came first: “if you don’t pass your school exams or your test, then you’re not going to play football.” Right to Dream recruited him at 12 and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani recalled a determined teenager training through a broken thumb. FC Nordsjælland signed him on his 18th birthday and he established himself by the end of his debut campaign, then followed that with 11 goals from 22 league starts and a first senior Ghana call-up in November 2019, where he scored. “When you play for a country,” he says, “that stays with you forever.”

Kudus moved to Ajax in 2020. Less than 10 minutes into his Champions League debut against Liverpool he tore his meniscus, a setback that began a run of injuries that cost him 50 games across two seasons. “All those setbacks and injuries, you get to learn about your body, study yourself, so I put my effort into that,” he recalls. He hired a personal trainer, focused on recovery and returned to post a career-best 18 goals in 2022–23, including a Champions League equaliser at Anfield in September. Asked why he crossed the London divide this summer, he was direct and succinct: “My gut feeling.”