*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:58, 15 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:05, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
Kudus made his official debut for Nordsjælland only three days after his 18th birthday, in a 2–0 defeat againstBrøndby IF. He played from the first minute as a striker, but was replaced at half-time. With his debut, Kudus became the ninth youngest player to debut for the club.[3]
On 16 July 2020, Kudus signed forEredivisie clubAjax for €9 million, on a five-year contract. He made his official debut for the club on 20 September in a league match againstRKC Waalwijk. Head coachErik ten Hag subsequently called Kudus as a player with "incredible potential".[4][5] He continued his strong performances, scoring one goal and providing three assists in his first three appearances.[6] He debuted in theUEFA Champions League for the home match againstLiverpool on 21 October 2020, though was substituted out after only six minutes as he suffered ameniscus injury,[7] keeping him out for several months.[8] He returned from injury in January 2021, enjoying a 10-minutes in a 2–2 draw againstPSV. He suffered a setback in his recovery and missed the rest of the matches in January before returning to action in February.[9] On 21 February 2021, he returned to Ajax’s starting eleven for the first time since October 2020, and scored a goal in the 50th minute of a 4–0 win overSparta Rotterdam.[10][11]
After his return from injury, Kudus played in 13 of Ajax's final 14 league games, as well as 31 minutes of theirKNVB Cup semi-final match againstHeerenveen as Ajax clinched the domestic double at the end of his first season.[12][13] He won his first career trophy, the2020–21 KNVB Cup on 18 April 2021, afterDavid Neres scored in additional time to secure a 2–1 victory overVitesse.[14] At the end of the season, Kudus made 22 appearances in all competitions for Ajax, scoring four goals and registering three assists.[9]
On 25 July 2021, Ajax announced duringpre-season that Kudus had suffered anankle injury and was training separately from the rest of the team ahead of the2021–22 season.[15] He made his return from injury on 21 September, coming on at half-time to score the fourth of Ajax's 5 goals' triumph overFortuna Sittard.[16][17] Kudus suffered an injury while playing for Ghana in November 2021, sidelining him for three months.[18] His first match back from injury was on 14 February 2022 againstTwente, where he replacedSteven Berghuis for the final four minutes of their 5–0 victory.[19]
Whilst recovering from his injures and restricted from first team appearances, Kudus played four matches and scored four goals forJong Ajax in theEerste Divisie, including ahat-trick againstADO Den Haag.[20]
Kudus playing for Ajax in 2023
On 17 April, he came on in the 86th minute forDavy Klaassen in the2022 KNVB Cup final, which Ajax lost 2–1 to PSV.[21][22] Upon his return, he played in 11 out of 13 league matches, but only started in two of them as Ajax won the2021–22 Eredivisie.
On 7 September 2022, Kudus scored his firstChampions League goal in a 4–0 win overRangers.[23] On 19 February 2023, he scored from a free-kick in the 84th minute of a league match against Sparta Rotterdam to earn Ajax a 4–0 victory. He celebrated by paying tribute to fellow Ghanaian footballer,Christian Atsu, who died in the2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. He ran to the sideline and removed his Ajax shirt to display a white shirt underneath that read, "RIP Atsu."[24] He scored 18 goals in 42 appearances with six assists in the 2022–23 season.[25]
Kudus started the season on 12 August with a goal in the 75th minute in Ajax's 4–1 opening-day win againstHeracles.[26] On 24 August, he scored a hat-trick in his last game for Ajax in a2023–24 Europa League play-off first-leg qualifier againstLudogorets in Bulgaria as Ajax won 4–1.[27]
On 27 August 2023, Kudus signed forPremier League clubWest Ham United on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[28] which was reported to be €44.5m (£38m) plus add-ons.[29] He also became the third Ghanaian player to play for West Ham followingJohn Paintsil andAndré Ayew[30][31] and the second most expensive Ghanaian footballer of all-time behindThomas Partey.[32]
He made his debut on 1 September in a 2–1 away win againstLuton Town, coming on in the 91st minute.[33] He scored his first goals for the club in a group stage game of the2023–24 UEFA Europa League on 21 September at home, netting a brace against Serbian sideBačka Topola in a 3–1 win.[34][35] On 9 October, Kudus scored his first Premier League goal againstNewcastle United in the 89th minute to tie the game 2–2.[36] His scissor kick goal againstBrentford in November 2023 was voted West Ham's Goal of the Month for November.[37][38][39]
On 14 March 2024, Kudus scored a goal described as a "goal of the season contender" by former West Ham midfielderJoe Cole, in which Kudus picked up the ball in his own half and dribbled past three defenders before finishing pastNoah Atubolu to score West Ham's fourth goal in a 5–0 win against German sideSC Freiburg in theUEFA Europa League round of 16.[40] After scoring in a 4–3 away defeat by Newcastle United on 30 March, Kudus became the top scoring Ghanaian for the club with 13 goals, surpassing André Ayew's record of 12 goals.[41] He finished his debut season as the player with most successful dribbles in the Premier League with 124 dribbles.[42]
Since 2019, he has been a part of theGhana national team and scored several goals. On 14 November 2021, Kudus sustained a ruptured rib injury whilst playing for theBlack Stars in their final 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier Group match againstSouth Africa.[43] This injury kept him out for almost three months including missing the delayed2021 African Cup of Nations despite being named in thefinal squad list for the competition.[44][45] Kudus made a return into the squad to play for Ghana in their final2022 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff against Nigeria.[46] He played in both matches as Ghana qualified for their fourthWorld Cup tournament.[47][48]
In November 2022, Kudus was called up to the 26-man Ghana squad that would compete inQatar for the2022 FIFA World Cup.[49] In his World Cup debut, Ghana facedPortugal in a 3–2 defeat.[50] The following match, Kudus scored twice in a 3–2 win overSouth Korea.[51][52] Ghana required a win or draw in their final group match againstUruguay to advance. However, they lost 2–0, sending Ghana home after finishing fourth place in their group.[53][54]
In January 2024, Kudus was named in the 27-man squad for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.[55] After a 2–1 loss toCape Verde in their opening match,[56] Ghana facedEgypt in the following match, where he scored a brace in a 2–2 draw.[57] In their final group stage match againstMozambique, Kudus managed to win a penalty for his team, which was converted byJordan Ayew. Despite being two goals up, Mozambique managed to tie the game with two late goals, and with group rivals Egypt scoring a late goal to draw 2–2 against already-qualified Cape Verde, both Ghana and Mozambique were eliminated from the tournament, and Egypt advanced to the knockout stages.[58]
.jpg)
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
