West Ham must rue selling Bilic signing who now assists more than Kudus

In the 2016/17 season, West Ham United spent around £69.5m on 13 new additions to their squad, ten of which joined on permanent deals, and three of which signed on temporary deals with a loan fee being paid.

The biggest deal of that season was the signing of Andre Ayew from Swansea for around £20.5m. The Ghana international made 50 appearances for the Hammers, netting 12 goals and providing five assists in his 2,882 minutes played.

West Ham 2016/17 signings
Player	Fee (£)
Andre Ayew	£20.5m
Manuel Lanzini	£10m
Robert Snodgrass	£10m
Jose Fonte	£7.6m
Arthur Masuaku	£5.9m
Edimilson Fernandes	£5.3m
Sofiane Feghouli	£0
Havard Nordtveit	£0
Alvaro Arbeloa	£0
Ashley Fletcher	£0
Data taken from Transfermarkt

Manuel Lanzini, Robert Snodgrass, Jose Fonte, Edimilson Fernandes, Sofiane Feghouli, Havard Nordtveit, Alvaro Arbeloa and Ashley Fletcher were the other permanent transfers made, alongside one more permanent deal, who went on to be a key man for the Hammers, Arthur Masuaku.

As it happens, he’s now playing rather well away from the London Stadium.

Arthur Masuaku’s time at West Ham in numbers

The left-back, who was 22-years-old at the time, was signed by Slaven Bilic, and made 16 appearances in his debut season, providing one assist, contributing to five clean sheets, and totalling 1,247 minutes played.

Masuaku went on to make 128 appearances for West Ham, scoring two goals and providing ten assists, featuring for over 8,700 minutes during his years in the capital.

West Ham went to sell the Congolese left-back in 2023, joining Besiktas on a permanent deal for around £1.75m. And he’s now outperforming all of West Ham’s creative forwards, including Mohammed Kudus.

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Arthur Masuaku’s stats after leaving West Ham

This season for Besiktas, Masuaku has made 17 appearances for the Turkish club, scoring once, and providing three assists in 1,463 minutes played.

It’s a mightily impressive record and showcases just how good the former Hammers full-back has been in forward areas of the pitch.

As it happens, his total goal involvements have been more than one of their star men in Kudus. He has only managed two goals and one assist in his ten games played this campaign, one less goal involvement than Masuaku.

Last campaign, the 24-year-old winger made 45 appearances for the Hammers in his debut season, scoring 14 goals, providing six assists, and totalling 3,781 minutes.

But the Ghana international has struggled to hit the same heights this season, which has left West Ham struggling in the attacking third.

Masuaku vs Kudus comparison
Stats (per 90 mins)	Masuaku	Kudus
Goals	0.08	0.26
Assists	0.15	0.13
Progressive Carries	3.25	5.00
Progressive Passes	3.50	2.75
Shots Total	0.90	3.64
Key Passes	1.00	0.68
Passes into Final Third	5.00	1.62
Tackles	2.00	1.22
Interceptions	1.05	0.13
Stats taken from FBref

From the metrics above, considering Masuaku is playing as a left-back and Kudus is playing on the left-wing, it’s surprising to see that creative numbers are in the defenders’ favour, providing more key passes, more progressive passes, and more assists per 90.

A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.

Kudus, on the other hand, scores more goals per 90, and has a higher shot volume, taking 3.64 shots per 90. However, he hasn’t had his shooting boots on this season either, only netting twice which has left the Hammers needing other avenues for goals.

West Ham could rue the decision to sell Masuaku, as he could have provided some extra attacking flair from left-back, bringing extra creativity to help the Hammers attacking quartet and improve on their 13 goals scored this season.