West Ham could make a “special” £34 million transfer in January to replicate Kudus’ feat.
The 26-year-old could add an extra layer to the Irons attack.
There was anticipation and optimism that West Ham United would pick up the pace and push their way up the Premier League table this year after winning their Europa Conference League at the end of the previous campaign.
In the league, that is, the Hammers haven’t been especially bad in 2023–24, but they haven’t been especially good either.
With one game remaining in the Europa League group stage, David Moyes’ team has continued their winning ways on the continent. The Irons are currently tied for first place in group A with SC Freiburg.
Former Ajax player Mohammed Kudus has been a standout performer for the Eastenders. It appears the team wants to build on this achievement as they have been linked to Steven Bergwijn, another attacker who is tearing it up in the Eredivisie.
West Ham United transfer news – Steven Bergwijn
The former Tottenham Hotspur winger Bergwijn has drawn interest from a number of international teams, including West Ham United, according to the Dutch website AjaxShowTime.
The 26-year-old signed a five-year contract with the Amsterdam team after leaving Spurs in the summer of 2022 for a reported fee of around £26 million.
He has been in excellent form ever since, and his appointment as the team’s captain in August of this year shows just how far he has come from his unsatisfactory time spent in north London.
Although this indicates that the Hammers have a fantastic player there, it also means that they will have to pay a premium to bring him back to England. According to SportWitness, journalist Valentijn Driessen of De Telegraff suggested that it would require an offer of around €40 million, or £34 million, to persuade Ajax to part with their star winger.
Given how effectively former Ajax attacker Kudus has adjusted to life in the Premier League, even though it is a hefty investment, West Ham might consider this to be good value.
Steven Bergwijn could replicate Mohammed Kudus’ success at the London Stadium
Although detractors may point to Bergwijn’s lackluster Tottenham record—apart from that one game—as justification for the Irons not moving forward with this acquisition, there is maybe more proof from his time in the Netherlands that he would be a wise addition, particularly when his record is contrasted with Kudus’.
It is difficult to remain neutral when considering the pair’s stats from their final complete Eredivisie season, 2022–2023, and the possibility of seeing the “special” Bergwijn—as Antonio Conte described him—back in the Premier League.
As praised by former Spurs number one Paul Robinson, the “top player” holds up astonishingly well against the Irons’ newest fan favorite and wins more often than not in metrics.
| Steven Bergwijn vs Mohammed Kudus | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stats (per 90) | Bergwijn | Kudus |
| Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists | 0.59 | 0.73 |
| Progressive Passes | 5.58 | 3.27 |
| Progressive Carries | 5.46 | 3.32 |
| Shots on Target | 1.38 | 1.36 |
| Attempted Passes (Success) | 48.8 (86%) | 33.0 (58.5%) |
| Shot-Creating Actions | 4.69 | 3.41 |
| Successful Take-Ons | 4.57 | 1.50 |
| Dispossessed | 1.58 | 3.22 |
| All Stats via FBref for the 2022/23 Eredivisie Season | ||
It’s true that the “electric” Ghanaian, as football talent scout Jacek Kulig put it, only excels in non-penalty expected goals and assists as well as successful takeaways. Despite Bergwijn’s lackluster N17 campaign, there will always be some doubts about his ability, but the fact that he was more impressive than Kudus during their time together should tell the Conference League champions that this is a player worth pursuing.
