3 ways Tottenham could line up with Mohammed Kudus

It's the start of a new financial year, and it's time for Tottenham to get their summer transfer window rolling.

Indecision on the managerial front means we're playing catch-up to our proactive rivals, but Thomas Frank has now had ample time to sit down with old pal Johan Lange and streamline our summer plan.

While I don't believe that an overhaul is needed despite our woeful Premier League campaign, Frank undeniably needs help. The squad needs to be deeper to compete on multiple fronts next season, but an increase in starting XI quality if also necessary in a couple of areas.

West Ham's Mohammed Kudus is surely an addition that the majority of us can get on board with. He might not be everybody's apparent favourite (Eberechi Eze), but the versatile Ghanaian would appear an excellent fit for Thomas Frank, who has a knack for maximising the potential of any gifted footballer he gets his hands on.

Here are three ways Frank could set up his Tottenham side if Kudus was to join the club this summer.

Kudus as a centre-forward

The 24-year-old is listed by Transfermarkt as playing nine different roles in his senior career, and he's most commonly been used as a centre-forward. Many of these appearances arrived at Ajax, but Graham Potter also deployed Kudus in a front two with Jarrod Bowen last season.

While Bowen was tasked with doing much of the in-behind running, Kudus had the license to drop in, receive possession and carry the ball upfield in transition. The pair had particular success as a tandem in their 1-0 win at the Emirates earlier this year.

We're expecting Frank to start with a back four in his new role, but the Dane's adaptability and our current collection of centre-halves means a shift to a back five is plausible. In that case, Kudus could be used as part of strike pairing, but it requires a ying-and-yang dynamic for any partnership to be successful.

Dominic Solanke can run the channels while also operating as an effective focal point, but Mathys Tel or even Brennan Johnson could be a more harmonious combination. Their willingness to stretch the pitch would aid Kudus' ability to get on the ball, and they'd both work better making out-to-in runs off the left with Kudus preferring to drop in on the opposite side.

Still, I suspect this ploy would be preserved for special occasions. It won't be Frank's default, that's for sure.

Kudus as an attacking midfielder

While many believe a new No. 6 is needed this summer, some have questioned whether further depth in an attacking midfield position is also required.

James Maddison is superb but has struggled physically since joining the club. Given what Frank extracted out of Mikkel Damsgaard without the ball last season, you can envisage Maddison struggling somewhat—even if he can replicate what Damsgaard supplied Brentford in possession.

Dejan Kulusevski's doggedness renders him a good fit, but he's set to miss the start of the season due to a long-term knee injury. We don't know how the Swede will look when he returns.

These concerns rationalise the pursuit of Kudus, who's comfortable in an array of functions and has the potential to operate as Frank’s No. 10. The Ghanaian's superpower is his ball-carrying. The ability to receive the ball centrally, resist pressure and weave beyond challenges are invaluable traits when you're regularly coming against compact and narrow mid-blocks.

Admittedly, his attitude wasn't great for chunks of last season, but Kudus has previously shown a willingness to work his socks off defensively. He's an active presser who recovered possession an impressive 376 times during his two seasons at West Ham and won over 60% of his attempted tackles. Frank will get him running again.

Kudus as a right-winger

Kudus is pretty one-footed, so some might raise fears of potential predictability if he was to be stationed off the right flank. However, the Ghanaian's stellar ball-manipulation and press-resistance ensure he's a nightmare to defend against one-on-one, even if the defender knows which direction he's heading.

With Frank's full-backs generally retaining the width as opposed to operating inside, Kudus could work well with an overlapping Pedro Porro. His dribbling ability and desire to cut inside would complement Porro's willingness to get forward and affect proceedings in the final third.

Moreover, the deployment of Kudus would nicely balance out Tottenham's attack, with the left-sided option—either Son Heung-min, Mathys Tel or Brennan Johnson—likely to be more direct, with their role predicated on out-to-in runs and goalscoring. Off the right, Kudus can share the load with Maddison from a ball-progression perspective.

The latter tends to drop into deeper positions down the left to aid our build-up play and function as the bridge between defence and attack. Kudus could do something similar down the right, only he'd do much of the ball progressing himself thanks to his supreme ball-carrying abilities.

For balance, this is the role I believe would suit Kudus most in a Frank 4-2-3-1.