Mohammed Kudus stars in different role for Ghana, and De Zerbi may take note

Tottenham Hotspur have 15 players away on international duty this month, and many of them have already taken to the field.

Among them is Mohammed Kudus, who is away with Ghana and featured on Thursday in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Somalia, a Group C, Round 3 fixture.

The Black Stars were victorious, winning 2-0 for their first victory of the qualifying round, which leaves them third, three points behind second-placed Gambia and six points clear of Ivory Coast.

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It was a victory inspired by the Tottenham man, who put in an impressive display on Thursday evening.

The versatile Spurs winger was rated higher than any other player on the pitch, with FotMob handing him a match-high 8.5 rating.

The underlying numbers show why he was scored so highly, as Kudus grabbed an assist and was unplayable throughout the encounter.

No player created more chances than the 26-year-old, who had five. No one had more touches in the opposition box than Kudus’ six, and no one took more shots than his four, and he did all of that across the full 90 minutes.

On top of that, his all-round numbers made for impressive reading:

Kudus’ display is one that will certainly catch the attention of Roberto De Zerbi, as the 26-year-old impressed playing as a number 10 rather than in his usual right-wing role.

Down the middle for Ghana, Kudus proved to be a creative outlet, with his match-high five chances created.

That sort of creativity is something Spurs have lacked for most of this season, with James Maddison failing to stay fit for an extended period so far

Should the Englishman continue to struggle for fitness, Kudus has shown that he is capable of filling in there, although it would be naive to make such a claim based on just one game.

Kudus international has featured down the middle just once this season for Tottenham, and only briefly, playing 18 minutes there in the clash against Everton.

However, looking at his overall career stats, attacking midfield is the position Kudus has played in second-most often, proving he remains an option for De Zerbi down the middle.