During the 2023/24 campaign, there wasn’t exactly much to scream and shout about at West Ham United under David Moyes.
However, the Hammers’ faithful will hope that new boss Julen Lopetegui can reinvigorate the squad, as the fans dream of another European adventure.
One player that the Spaniard will look to build around is Mohammed Kudus, who excelled with eight goals and six assists in the Premier League last season.
With that in mind, Lopetegui could look to sign a clone of the former Ajax winger this summer.
West Ham could sign Kudus 2.0
As per a report from Football Insider earlier this week, West Ham have ‘concrete’ interest in signing Jack Clarke.
It seems that the Sunderland winger is looking to take the step up to the Premier League next season, having rejected a new contract offer.
The Black Cats reportedly believe that the attacker is worth more than £15m, and the Hammers are weighing up making a bid.
Clarke ticks the box of being a home-grown player, which is a priority for the club this summer.
Transfer activity has already begun at the London Stadium as Wes Foderingham is all but confirmed to be joining the club on a free deal, and Luis Guilherme has already arrived from Palmeiras.
Max Kilman, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Raheem Sterling, and Matias Soule are all names that have been recently linked with a move, with attacking reinforcements clearly high on the list.
How Jack Clarke compares to Mohammed Kudus
It’s fair to say that last season, Clarke was one of the standout players in the entire Championship.
Despite failing to earn promotion with Sunderland, Clarke will surely be playing in the Premier League next season, as that’s exactly where someone of his quality belongs.
Across the campaign, the winger made 40 league appearances, 39 of which were starts, while operating as a left-winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The Englishman performed at an extremely high level in almost every game, proving instrumental in the attack, scoring 15 goals and providing four assists for the Black Cats.
This output would have made him the second-highest scorer at the Hammers last season, only behind Bowen with 16, but it’s Kudus who he has plenty of similarities to.
So, how does he compare to the Irons superstar? We've got the answer.
Goals
0.39
0.29
Assists
0.10
0.22
Shots
2.75
2.43
Key passes
2.34
1.01
Shot-creating actions
5.41
3.62
Successful take-ons
3.81
4.49
Carries into penalty area
4.53
1.45
Tackles
1.54
2.36
As you can see, Clarke and Kudus are both incredibly direct and dynamic wingers who can provide a threat via goals as well as chance creation.
Both players play with an edge of unpredictability, which occurs due to their untouchable dribbling and ball-carrying, which often enable them to breeze past opponents.
On the other hand, they also both have a relentless aspect to their game, which means that they’re intense when on the ball and out of possession, something that's shown by their tackles.
However, the main difference between the two is that Clarke is a huge creator who has elite vision and the ability to create a moment of magic out of absolutely nothing, which is why former manager Tony Mowbray has described him as “devastating.”
Furthermore, the right-footed forward is more of a direct goal threat than West Ham’s number 14, proving more likely to take a shot at goal if the opportunity presents itself, as shown by his superior goals and shots taken stats.
Just imagine an attack including Clarke and the left-footed Kudus; it has the potential to become one of the most frightening attacking duos in the entire division.
Indeed, West Ham potentially signing Clarke for around £15m could prove to be one of the best buys of the summer, and if he can perform anywhere close to Kudus, Lopetegui has a huge chance of succeeding and, most importantly, playing some fantastic football.
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