Mohammed Kudus goes at his own pace. As an ever-expanding pile of breathless Premier League defenders would reliably attest, that can be a difficult tempo to match, but the composed 25-year-old is just as comfortable taking his time.
Even when he answers questions, each is prefaced with a noticeable pause, mulling over just the right words to describe the measured thought process behind a choreographed career path. Kudus is not to be rushed.
Tottenham Hotspur’s £55 million ($74.2 million) summer recruit had multiple opportunities to move to the Premier League before he eventually accepted West Ham United’s advances two years ago. After his first taste of Europe with Danish outfit FC Nordsjælland and a maiden campaign in the Netherlands at Ajax, Kudus had a jostling queue of suitors from England’s top flight knocking on his door. The money and glory on offer would have been instantly life-changing but his gut told him otherwise. The job had not been done.
“If I’m taking the next step,” Kudus says, “I really want to know that I’ve smashed it and conquered it.” The Danish and Dutch top flights would soon bend to his will and the Premier League is very much next on the list.
