West Ham held more possession than the opposition for the third Premier League game this season, out of a possible seven, something Julen Lopetegui is trying to slowly integrate to his side.
The Hammers held 53% of the ball against Ipswich, but have averaged 45.4% possession this campaign so far, as the Spaniard has tried to implement a new style of football at the London Stadium.
Plenty of good performances could be picked out for the Hammers, but after scoring four goals having only scored ten all season, the attack deserves extra credit this week for finding their shooting boots and putting their chances away.
Jarrod Bowen and Mohamed Kudus were chief among their stars on Saturday afternoon,
Bowen and Kudus in 2024/25
Both Bowen and Kudus were on the scoresheet for the Hammers against Ipswich, after both having fairly slow starts by their standards this campaign.
Bowen has two goals and two assists in seven Premier League games now, following his goal and assist on Saturday.
Kudus, on the other hand, got his first goal contribution in the league this season, making seven appearances in the Premier League this and only scoring once in 579 minutes. Considering how good the latter, in particular, was last term, his form was a big cause for concern.
Indeed, the pair were heavily relied upon in 2023/24, having 50 goals and assists between them in all competitions, which shows how much of West Ham’s output comes from the attacking duo.
Can you imagine a world in which the Irons didn’t have Bowen or Kudus at their disposal? They may well have signed a different player instead of the latter last summer…
When West Ham wanted to sign Harvey Barnes
According to the Telegraph back in early June 2023, West Ham were leading the race to sign Harvey Barnes from Leicester with Tottenham, Newcastle and Aston Villa all also linked at the time.
In July, Newcastle ended up signing Barnes for around £39m, which then saw the Clarets sign Kudus in August for around £38m. West Ham’s earlier interest in the “efficient” winger, as he labelled by Statman Dave, could have seen the Hammers not sign the Ghanaian if they had got Barnes over the line.
So, was that a good piece of business? The stats help us to understand the difference between both players.
Goals
0.52
0.37
Assists
0.31
0.17
xG
0.40
0.25
xAG
0.36
0.15
Progressive Carries
5.06
4.07
Progressive Passes
3.82
2.94
Shots Total
3.23
2.52
Key Passes
1.46
1.18
Shot-Creating Actions
3.26
3.62
Successful Take-Ons
0.79
4.04
Tackles
0.67
2.36
It is important to note when analysing these metrics from last season that Barnes only played 862 minutes, largely due to injury, whereas Kudus played 3,678 minutes. But you can see from these stats that when the Toon ace was available, he was performing at the top level.
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Kudus had a great season, scoring eight goals and providing six assists in the Premier League last campaign, but it was his direct nature, and ability in 1v1s that really impressed, averaging 4.04 take-ons per 90, and even tracking back to win 2.36 tackles per 90, affecting the game on both sides of the ball.
Barnes started this season faster than Kudus with his output, already scoring three times and providing one assist in his seven Premier League appearances. The metrics analysed above and the output already in 2024/25 tell us Barnes is perhaps more precise with his final action (shot, pass etc), whereas Kudus has a more maverick in his approach to making things happen.
West Ham fans will be happy things panned out the way they did, as Kudus has quickly become a fan favourite, but imagine they had signed the Newcastle winger instead, lining up with him on the left (his preferred side) and Bowen on the right, two Englishman in their natural positions.
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