MINTAH Writes: Manchester City is the best destination for Kudus Mohammed, not Chelsea

As crazy as it sounds, there was a time there were legitimate concerns over signing the great Ronaldinho. Was he another Denilson, a trickster who had all the skills in the world and beyond to beat players at will but could never put it all together to become an elite player, or even worse an average player?

Was Ronaldinho going to be another Brazilian who flat out flames out, like his compatriot, when asked to produce consistently as every elite player does?

The answer was a bit up in the air, considering Ronaldinho had already showed up big on the big stages (at the 2002 FIFA World Cup) and in the biggest games for Paris Saint-Germain (against Olympique Marseilles and AS Monaco especially) but was pretty anonymous in games against mid table teams and bottom dwellers.

Denilson’s huge failure to live up to his world’s most expensive player tag rubbed heavily off on doubts on Ronaldinho but that was soon put to bed by the ever smiling maestro who dazzled the world at the Camp Nou.

In fact, Ronaldinho was so untouchable at Barcelona that his time at AC Milan, though very good, is generally viewed as part of the more unimpressive years in his career.

Professional sports operates with a strong copycat format that whatever works gets replicated by other operators in the discipline.

In the NBA, the winning template was to play small ball like the Golden State Warriors teams that won three titles in four years. That has switched to going with a traditional big man who has the passing skills of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

Seeing the somewhat depressed market for Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus isn’t shocking, looking at the flat performances of Antony and Mykhailo Mudryk. Both players were sold by Ajax Amsterdam and Shakhtar Donetsk respectively for at least 100 million Euros and underperformed in their debut seasons in the English Premier League.

Had Antony and Mudryk started their EPL careers off with a bang, clubs would be queuing up to sign a left footed winger with tremendous ball juggling ability, balance, improving goal scoring prowess, and years on hand to grow into an absolute world-beater.

Mohammed has been consistently linked to the EPL since the start of the 2022-2023 season with Everton, Liverpool, Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal all mentioned as potential destinations. Chelsea has been added to this “interested in Kudus” list in recent days with the London club mentioned as a huge admirer of the Ajax player.

Outside the EPL, Borussia Dortmund looks to be the best club for Kudus but moving to the German side is quite a linear move and Brighton and the EPL represents that step up in competition quality.

Though Brighton will compete in the Europa League and not the Champions League like Dortmund, affairs at the club are quite settled and a path to regular extensive minutes are quite clearer compared to Arsenal, Chelsea or even Everton.

However, one team that hasn’t been connected to securing Mohammed Kudus’ signing at the time of writing this piece is Manchester City. Here are reasons why a move to Man City works for Mohammed Kudus.

Chelsea’s priority compared to Man City’s

Chelsea is having trouble deciding between spending money to sign Moises Caicedo to play exclusively as the defensive midfielder alongside the versatile Enzo Fernandez in Mauricio Pochettino’s heavily used 4-2-3-1 formation and buying another central defender.

With Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana injured and Thiago Silva very high up there in age and having his fair share of injuries, getting an Axel Disasi is more of a priority than getting a winger who can also line up in midfield in Kudus.

On the other hand, Man City needs such a player in its setup following the exits of Riyadh Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan. Pep Guardiola’s side has played its hand to fill the wing/midfield role by registering its interest in Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise.

Michael Olise Effect

While the Cityzens are engulfed in a battle with RB Leipzig to sign defender Josko Gvardiol, the team EPL champs need reinforcement in the midfield/wing role. Rico Lewis played in this role last season but an upgrade on the English youngster is exactly what Pep desires hence the interest in Olise who is more accomplished than Lewis.

Kudus has the tactical range to play Bernardo Silva’s role as a guy who plays on the wing and can slot into the left side of a three man midfield unit with Rodri and Mateo Kovacic or Kevin De Bruyne.

Olise played to his immense talent this past season but Kudus has shown he is more accomplished and the more ready player to meet Guardiola’s demanding system.

An archetype of Guaridola’s system was on full display in Man City’s 1-0 over Arsenal at the Emirates in the COVID-hit 2020-21 season where Man City went striker-less and won the league.

In that win over Arsenal, De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva took turns playing central in a three-man attack formation. Kudus played 16 games last season, scored nine goals and added two assists as a makeshift center-forward for Ajax.

As a right winger, the soon-to-be 23-year-old played 17 games, scored seven goals and registered four assists, while scoring two goals and bagging an assist in nine games as an attacking midfielder. As a pro, Olise (who turns 22 in December) is yet to line up as a center-forward, thus giving Kudus the edge even in the face of Olise’s effect in this discussion.

Continuing the Man City way of doing business

Man City under Guardiola operate a bit differently from the norm as the club signs players who aren’t necessarily needed but end up slotting into Guardiola’s grand scheme and becoming contributors. Manuel Akanji wasn’t a ‘sexy signing’ as an inconsistent defender who made a tad too many mistakes but he contributed immensely to the treble-winning squad.

City overpaid for Jack Grealish, and in the Englishman’s debut season at the Etihad, he did look like an overpaid winger.

However, in his second season, he played up to his price tag so well.

At this point, Mohammed Kudus to Man City looks a bit off script but doing things a bit off script, with others catching up later has been Guardiola’s trademark since breaking into pro coaching ranks. As such, seeing Kudus in a Man City jersey isn’t farfetched at all.