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.”

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.”

West Ham United have moved swiftly to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo on a three-year contract, confirming the former Nottingham Forest boss as the successor to Graham Potter.

The decision follows a poor start to the 2025–26 campaign for the Hammers. West Ham have lost four of their first five Premier League matches and conceded 13 goals in that period. They also surrendered a 2–1 lead against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup, adding to the club’s early-season concerns.

On his appointment Nuno said: “I am very pleased to be here and very proud to be representing West Ham United,” Nuno told the club’s official website. “My objective is to work hard to get the very best from the team and ensure that we are as competitive as we possibly can be. The work has already started and I am looking forward to the challenge that is ahead.”

Nuno arrives having led Nottingham Forest to a surprise seventh-place finish last season, securing entry to the Europa League after Crystal Palace were demoted to the Conference League because of co-ownership issues involving former investor John Textor.

His exit from Forest was marked by a strained relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis after Nuno criticised the club’s approach to the summer transfer window. There were also widespread rumours of a rift with technical director Edu Gaspar, the 47-year-old who was appointed to his role in the summer after previously spending two-and-a-half years as Arsenal’s sporting director.

The challenge at West Ham is significant. Supporters have expressed discontent with the way the club is being run by owner David Sullivan, and the squad’s form must improve quickly. Nuno’s reign begins on Monday night when the Hammers travel to Everton for Monday Night Football to face former manager David Moyes. He will work with the existing staff for that fixture while appointments to his backroom team are made.