When the topic of his first meeting with Micky van de Ven is raised, Mohammed Kudus can’t help but laugh.
The pair are two key members of Thomas Frank’s current Tottenham Hotspur side but their most notable meeting came in October 2024 when Kudus, then of West Ham United, was sent off after a scuffle with his future teammate.
Kudus gave the Hammers an 18th-minute lead in this particularly spiky London derby before Spurs equalised through Dejan Kulusevski. The score was deservedly level at 1–1 at the half-time interval. West Ham collectively imploded thereafter, shipping three goals in the space of eight second-half minutes, two of which were watched by a trio of West Ham substitutes who were left waiting on the touchline while their teammates wilted.
The collective headloss was completed in the final five minutes by Kudus himself. Tottenham’s buccaneering centre back Van de Ven snuffed out another feeble attack from the visitors and began a forward surge of his own which West Ham’s frustrated talisman unceremoniously halted. Trailing 4–1 away to their fiercest rivals, the red mist had been shrouded over Kudus for a while by that point.
“I was just fuming that game,” he tells Sports Illustrated, the frustration still clear almost a year later, “and I just reacted straight away.”
After bumping Van de Ven to the turf, Kudus twice kicked the ball which was tangled underneath his prone opponent. The hulking Dutchman promptly sprang to his feet to confront Kudus, who jammed the butt of his palm into Van de Ven’s face. A cluster of players from both sides soon swarmed around the scene and Spurs midfielder Pape Matar Sarr got a hand in the face from Kudus as well for good measure.
What could have perhaps been an awkward reunion at Tottenham’s training ground this summer was swiftly subverted. “Whatever happened on the pitch stays on the pitch,” Kudus says.
“It’s done and dusted after the game. It’s nice playing with him now. It’s a small world in football. So just try to patch up and move on.”
Kudus, Van de Ven Key to Tottenham Ambitions
A clear core has already emerged at Tottenham during Frank’s opening weeks in the job. With Van de Ven alongside captain Cristian Romero providing a solid base, Kudus has already established himself as the roving force of nature in the attacking third.
Across the opening five weeks of the new Premier League season, Tottenham’s £55 million ($74.1 million) summer arrival has created a team-high 12 chances, more than Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert or Richarlison managed over the entire 2024–25 campaign.
Building on that promising start to life in north London, Kudus has a clear goal: “Winning a trophy.”
The reigning Europa League champions qualified for the continent’s premier club competition thanks to last season’s triumph over Manchester United. Yet, that success immediately preceded a 17-year silverware drought.
“We play in almost all the competitions this season; Premier League, Champions League, all the cups in England, so winning a trophy would be a successful season,” Kudus reasons. But his targets don’t stop there. “Also finishing top four also is a very reasonable challenge for us this season, qualifying for [the] next Champions League.”
Considering Spurs finished last season in 17th, three places below Kudus’s West Ham, the two foes turned friends will have to maintain their fine form if they are to lead a surge up to fourth.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘I Was Fuming’—Mohammed Kudus Remembers Micky van de Ven Reunion After Red Card.
