Mohammed Kudus has opened up on his admiration for Anfield favourite Thiago Alcantara after confirming interest from Liverpool’s Premier League rivals Everton, speaking to Ajax TV.
When the Ghana international burst onto the scene at Nordsjaelland, he was a midfielder tasked with setting the tempo and orchestrating proceedings form the centre of the park, while carving out goalscoring opportunities in the final third with his intelligence and guile.
A midfielder not to dissimilar, in some senses, to Liverpool’s stylish Spain international.
Everton target Mohammed Kudus idolises one Liverpool star
“I loved his playing style as a kid. I like creativity,” Kudus explains, relishing the opportunity to go head-to-head with Thiago himself during Ajax’s 2-1 Champions League group-stage defeat at Anfield five weeks ago.
“When I played in Denmark, a friend of mine got me a shirt from him. That was fantastic. The shirt hangs at my house and I’m very proud of it.
“Sometimes he plays as a number six but, despite his defensive duties, he doesn’t lose his creativity. No matter where he plays, he always finds the balance between defending and attacking. That’s how I want to play too.”
In order for Kudus to just that, however, Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder will have to revert the 22-year-old to his favoured position in midfield. Kudus has been a revelation as a penalty-box poaching centre-forward this term; scoring nine goals in 15 games, one of those lashed in off the crossbar against Thiago’s Liverpool in September.
Kudus wanted to join Everton
Centre-forward is hardly Kudus’ dream role. But better to play, albeit out of position, than not at all. It was largely thanks to Schreuder finding a place for Kudus in his stacked Ajax squad that the Accra-born enforcer is still in Amsterdam in the first place, having pushed for a move to Everton before being talked around.
“Everton offered me a great opportunity and I wanted to try it,” admits Kudus, who joined Ajax for £9 million in the summer of 2020.
“No footballer wants to sit on the bench and neither do I. Although I understand that not everyone can play all the time, Everton seemed like a good option at the time.”
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