As the start of West Ham United’s pre-season fixture list beckons, fair to say supporters are not happy.
On Saturday, the Hammers will face Swiss side Grasshoppers, before traveling to the United States for the Premier League Summer Series, where they’ll take on Manchester United, Everton and then Bournemouth.
Ahead of these matches though, supporters are not in high spirits, after star player Mohammed Kudus was sold to their fiercest rivals Tottenham for a reported fee of £55m.
Nevertheless, could the acquisition of a replacement lift the mood?
West Ham targeting new signings
As noted by Jacob Steinberg and Will Unwin of the Guardian the Hammers were forced to sell Kudus to avoid breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability rules, so Graham Potter will need to rebuild his squad on a tight budget.
Well, West Ham did make their first signing of the summer earlier this week, with El Hadji Malick Diouf arriving from Slavia Prague, the 20-year-old, Senegalese international left-wing-back joining for £19m.
Nevertheless, this does not fill Kudus’ rather large void, hence why, as reported by Football Insider, West Ham have stepped up their interest in signing Marcus Tavernier from Bournemouth.
Simon Jones of the Daily Mail has previously claimed that Tavernier is valued at around £30m by the Cherries, with İstanbul giants Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş sighted as also being interested in securing his signature.
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The 26-year-old has three years remaining on his contract by the South Coast, so Bournemouth are not under pressure to sell, but could he be on the move this summer?
How Marcus Tavernier would improve West Ham
Tavernier joined Bournemouth from Middlesbrough for around £10m three years ago, and has been a key figure for the Cherries ever since.
Then-manager Gary O’Neil described him as “technically gifted”, while current boss Andoni Iraola praised his “quality”, and Tavernier’s importance at Bournemouth has increased since the Spaniard’s arrival in Dorset.
Appearances
23
30
29
Starts
19
25
20
Minutes
1,749
2,133
1,940
Goals
5
3
3
Assists
4
4
6
Bryant Marques of Total Football Analysis highlights Tavernier’s ability to drive into space and his excellent ‘ball-carrying capacities’, able to create shooting angles thanks to his outstanding ‘individual technique’.
Meantime, Ahmed Shooble of the Athletic outlines how he was once the ‘Premier League’s most prolific dribbler’, impressed by his ‘versatility’ and ability to conduct direct attacks.
This skill set is certainly reminiscent of Kudus, suggesting he would be an ideal replacement, so let’s assess how the duo compared last season.
Minutes
1,940
2,590
Goals
3
5
Assists
5
3
Shot on target %
29.8%
28%
Shot-creating actions per 90
4.55
3.72
Chances created
43
29
Big chances created
9
4
Attempted take-ons
65
208
Take-on success %
47.46%
48.42%
Touches per 90
60.5
52.2
Average Sofascore rating
7.05
6.82
As the table outlines, in the Premier League last season, it is Tavernier’s statistics that come out on top almost across the board.
Kudus has attempted more take-ons than anyone else in the division in both of the last two seasons, while only Lamine Yamal registered more across Europe’s top five leagues last time round, which is certainly impressive company to keep.
Nevertheless, what is noteworthy is the fact that Kudus only completed 1% more take-ons than Tavernier, suggesting that many of his dribbles take him down a blind alley.
Meantime, the Englishman had the edge when it came to assists, shooting, chances created and touches, which is impressive.
Thus, while Kudus is, almost inarguably, the more eye-catching talent, could Tavernier ultimately prove to be the more effective player?
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