Nigel Reo-Coker slams David Moyes for Mohammed Kudus move at West Ham United
Nigel Reo-Coker has slammed David Moyes for playing Mohammed Kudus out of position during West Ham United’s Premier League defeat to Everton.
The Ghanaian international received his first Premier League start since making the switch from Ajax this summer against the Toffees on Sunday (29 October) but started in a central role behind Michail Antonio rather than his typical position on the wing.
In his early appearances in claret and blue, Kudus has been deployed out wide in the Europa League, primarily as a right-winger who can cut inside onto his left foot and Reo-Coker believes that Moyes made a mistake in preferring Lucas Paqueta out wide.
Speaking on the BBC’s Football Daily podcast (1 November) he said: “When you say attacking selection this weekend (vs Everton), for me why is he playing Kudus in the middle instead of out wide?
“I think Kudus can have the same impact as Doku does for Manchester City. Paqueta should be your middle-man, he’s the guy that can orchestrate everything. I think playing Kudus in the middle is something for me you can kind of question. He needs to be out wide, high, one-on-one against defenders and then producing his magic up there.”
Kudus has found Premier League minutes hard to come by since arriving in England this summer, primarily because of the excellent form of Jarod Bowen which has made the England international incredibly hard to displace on the Hammers’ right-wing.
That has seen the Ghanaian limited to Europa League appearances and cameos from the bench domestically, but given his impressive performances on the continent Moyes has been forced into finding a role for Kudus in the starting XI.
However, he didn’t look particularly comfortable in the number 10 role and Reo-Coker’s admission that it would have made more sense for Paqueta to feature centrally and Kudus to start on the left wing, even if it isn’t necessarily his preferred position.
Given Antonio’s lack of form in front of goal this season, it may make more sense for Moyes to move Bowen into a more central role as a striker, allowing Kudus to slot into the side on the right wing. Then one of Said Benrahma or Pablo Fornals could return to the left wing and create a much more dynamic front four with Paqueta in the number 10 position.
