Does Tottenham’s summer business leave them in a position to challenge towards the very top of the Premier League?

Spurs’ two major summer additions came in attacking positions, recruiting Mohammed Kudus from fierce rivals West Ham for £55m, as well as bringing in Xavi Simons for £51.8m from RB Leipzig.

On the pitch, after swatting aside the aforementioned Hammers 3-0 on Saturday evening, Thomas Frank’s team have now won three out of four in the Premier League.

Next up, Spurs will commence their Champions League campaign with Villarreal the visitors to North London, set to feature in UEFA’s top-tier competition for the first time in three years.

However, would Frank’s team be even more imposing and imperious had Spurs not allowed a 16-year-old academy kid to leave a few years ago. As it happens, he may not be better than the aforementioned Kudus.

Mohammed Kudus' start to life at Spurs

Kudus was certainly the central figure of Saturday’s clash with West Ham, not exactly receiving a warm welcome back to the London Stadium, having become the first player to make the controversial switch since Scott Parker in 2011.

The Ghanaian is yet to score in five appearances for Tottenham, but did register two assists during the opening day victory over Burnley.

So, let’s assess his statistics from the start of this season.

Minutes

427

7th

Assists

2

1st

Shots

7

2nd

Key passes

9

1st

Shot-creating actions

16

1st

Goal-creating actions

3

2nd

Attempted take-ons

29

1st

Successful take-ons

12

1st

Big chances created

1

1st

Touches

168

8th

Average SofaScore rating

7.43

2nd

As the table documents, Kudus has certainly been one of Spurs’ most dangerous players this season, ranked first for assists, key passes, shot-creating actions, dribbles and big chances created.

Thus, there is no doubting his quality, but did an even better winger move in this transfer window for a very similar amount, one that Tottenham had on their books, but let go?

Former Spurs winger starring elsewhere

Born in Barnet, Noni Madueke actually spent four years in Tottenham’s academy, making one appearance for the club in the U18 Premier League, before leaving in 2018 due to a lack of first-team opportunities, making the bold decision to join PSV Eindhoven as a 16-year-old.

Well, over in the Netherlands, he scored 20 goals in 80 first-team appearances for the Eredivisie giants, including a brace during a 4-0 Johan Cruijff Schaal victory over Ajax in Amsterdam, earning a £28.5m move back to London in January 2023, joining Chelsea.

After netting 20 times for the Blues, Chelsea’s continued relentless spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership saw Madueke deemed surplus to requirements this summer, thereby making the surprise move to Arsenal, the Gunners paying £52m for his signature.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.

This, largely due to the fee involved, raised a few eyebrows, but the 23-year-old has certainly impressed since swapping West London for North.

Last Tuesday, Madueke scored his first-ever England goal, on target as Thomas Tuchel’s team annihilated Serbia 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier at Stadion Rajko Mitić in Belgrade.

Then, the winger’s performance during Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday earned even greater plaudits.

Speaking during TNT Sports’ coverage, former Spurs striker Peter Crouch labelled him “unplayable”, while ex-Manchester United defender Paul Parker has gone so far as asserting “I actually think he’s better than Bukayo Saka”, a bold claim indeed.

In fairness, in the Premier League last season, Madueke ranked fifth for touches in the opposition box, fourth in terms of shots per 90 and third for both progressive carries as well as carries into the attacking penalty area, so no one should actually be surprised by the level of his quality.

Nevertheless, he has seemingly gone to another level since joining Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, which has surely got to sting for Spurs supporters.

Thus, of course, Tottenham are pleased to have Kudus in their ranks, but perhaps Frank’s side would be even better if Madueke was the man operating on the right flank, which he could well have been, had he not departed for Eindhoven seven years ago.

"Shocker" – £170k-p/w Tottenham star left furious despite win at West Ham

A Tottenham Hotspur player was left fuming, despite his side recording a comfortable victory at the London Stadium.

ByDominic Lund