When Mohammed Kudus made the blasphemous switch from West Ham United last summer, the Ghanaian believed himself to be taking the next step in his relatively young career.
However, by the time he returns from a hamstring injury in April, Tottenham will sit just a point above his former club and merely a position clear of the relegation zone. I suppose that is progress.
When Kudus succumbed against Sunderland on 4 January, Spurs were harmlessly meandering under Thomas Frank. The Dane was on the hot seat, no doubt, but there wasn't yet a sense that the Lilywhites were spiralling towards the drop zone. After that 1-1 draw, we were 13th and 13 points clear of the Hammers in 18th.
Since then, though, Tottenham haven't won a game of Premier League football. A historically bad run leaves us in a perilous position, and there's a good chance Kudus won't have had the chance to boost Igor Tudor's attacking option by the time he returns to full fitness amid rumours of the Croat's swift departure.
Mohammed Kudus is the man to save Tottenham from relegation
For me, Sunday's harrowing 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest was not an effort, attitude or motivation issue. A physical and compact Forest team merely exposed the technical limitations within this Tottenham team, especially when we were chasing the game in the second half.
Tudor, after a positive week, shot himself in the foot by not allowing Xavi Simons to build on his excellent showing against Atlético Madrid. The Croat had the deepest squad available to him by some distance since taking the job on, yet he was still fitting square pegs into round holes.
These players were unable to deliver in front of a unified and raucous home crowd in what was billed as the biggest domestic outing in a generation, and it's clear that only another injection of quality will get Spurs out of this mess.
Fortunately, Kudus is back working with the ball and is poised for a long-awaited comeback after the upcoming internationals. The three-week break following Sunday's defeat certainly works in our favour.
Tudor says Mohammed Kudus could be back with the squad in 10 days. That will be huge for us. pic.twitter.com/MbAvORrXyn
— Nathan (@NathanAClark) March 20, 2026
It shouldn't be forgotten just how reliant Frank was on Kudus for any source of attacking inspiration. Pedro Porro's direct combination with the Ghanaian was crucial to our early success under the Dane, but teams quickly caught onto Frank's over-reliance on the summer arrival, who was expected to do so much with very little.
Still, Kudus notched six assists and scored twice in his first 19 Premier League appearances. However, it wasn't his output that rendered the winger's start impressive, but rather his ability to ride physical contact, escape tight pockets to break the game open, and outmanoeuvre opponents one-on-one.
In a coherent, balanced framework, Kudus will shine, there's no doubt about that. With Xavi Simons yet to put together a string of dominant Premier League performances and Mathys Tel only now coming to the fore, Kudus is the leading man of our attack boasting the requisite talent to tilt matches in our favour.
It's he who will keep us up this season.