On Saturday, Manchester United will take on West Ham and one of Erik ten Hag’s former stars will be looking to prove a point.
Manchester United picked up a solid point at Anfield in a 0-0 draw which frustrated many in the Liverpool camp, but it was a result Erik ten Hag will have been delighted with. Virgil van Djik was one man outraged by United’s solid defensive display as Liverpool were denied from scoring.
Coming into the game, confidence was at an all-time low, and so the 0-0 feels like a miraculous result for United. Ultimately it was Ten Hag who got the plaudits as he got several decisions correct, however facing West Ham next, he’ll have a new concern on his mind.
Ten Hag will be worried as there’s a chance one of his most expensive decisions at United ends up looking like the wrong choice when confronted with the potential alternative.
Antony cost £85 million, while Mohammed Kudus was signed by The Hammers this past summer for £36.9m which is practically half the price.
While the Brazilian has been floundering for a season and a half now, Kudus has already begun to impress and this Saturday could be when he shows Ten Hag he’s made the wrong choice.
Kudus can send a message to Ten Hag on Saturday
These conversations started after Antony arrived with some fans pointing to the fact Kudus was the better option. This sentiment was then shared by Marco van Basten who argued Kudus was better.
Kudus was a top talent under Ten Hag so it made little sense why he wasn’t targeted. The Ghanaian even credits most of his success to Ten Hag’s coaching.
Even ahead of the summer 2023, while Antony was already here, Kudus was suggested as a target with Mike Vermijl saying it’d be a ‘beautiful thing’.
So far in his time at West Ham, Kudus has shown these comments to be correct no game moreso than this past weekend when he scored a brilliant brace against Wolves.
If he were to perform in a similar manner against United, it could raise a lot of questions and unearth the prevalent one of why Kudus wasn’t signed.
It could be pointed out that the year before Antony joined, Kudus was in the main injured for large periods of the 2021-22 season. However, Ten Hag had just come from Ajax so surely would have known the status of the injury and his boundless potential.
Kobbie Mainoo will be vital in sparing Ten Hag’s blushes
If United wanted Kudus they’d no doubt have been able to sign him, so if he tears us apart on Saturday it’ll be slightly embarrassing for the club and Ten Hag.
Therefore he will pin his hopes entirely in 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo who needs to shut down Kudus’ substantial threat.
Mainoo has been excellent since his first-team full debut against Everton and against a dangerous West Ham, that’ll have to continue.
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