5 West Ham replacements for Mohammed Kudus during AFCON | OneFootball

While it's been a very up-and-down season for West Ham United so far, Mohammed Kudus has consistently had a solid campaign. The forward has been one of the club's standout performers in the early stages of the year, with six-goal contributions to his name across all competitions.

The departure of Declan Rice in the summer threatened to send the Hammers into a bit of a tailspin, but they've navigated the loss impressively and Kudus has played a role in that. That's why it's worrying for David Moyes that he will be without the 23-year-old for a period of time when he leaves to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations in early 2024.

The star will represent Ghana in the tournament, leaving a fairly sizeable hole in the Hammers' side, but not to fear, we think there are a number of players that could step in and take over while he's away. Whether it's talent already at the club, or potential targets waiting to come in, these are five players that we think West Ham could look to as replacements for Kudus.

Jarrod Bowen - West Ham

While Kudus has played in the centre as an attacking midfielder at times this year, he's predominantly featured on the right wing, a position that Jarrod Bowen has also thrived in at West Ham. The Englishman has been incredible for the Hammers since his arrival from Hull City in 2020 and would almost certainly do a good enough job replacing Kudus.

In fact, with the two occupying the same position, there's a strong chance that Bowen will take hold of the role in Kudus' absence and the Ghana international is forced to occupy a more central role as he has at certain points of the season. Regardless, the club have a very solid right winger on their hands with Bowen and one who is more than capable of stepping into Kudus' role. In terms of a replacement, you don't get much better than this and he's already at the club which is pretty fortunate.

The absence of Kudus, though, will leave the club rather short at right wing, so they'll almost certainly need to recruit some depth in the January transfer window. On that note, let's look at some possible stars that could potentially add depth to the right wing position and help Bowen out, whether that's talent currently at the club in need of a new role, or outside names who the Hammers could potentially recruit in January.

Jadon Sancho

With his Manchester United career pretty much dead and buried now, it seems almost certain that Jadon Sancho will be leaving Old Trafford in January and a move to West Ham, albeit even if it's just a loan, would work well for both parties. A temporary spell would give the Hammers a chance to fill a hole left by Kudus, but it would also give the Englishman a chance to rediscover the form that had made him one of the most exciting forwards in the world at Borussia Dortmund.

Following his move to United, big things were expected of Sancho, but somewhere along the way, his form has taken a nosedive and his career in the top flight is in jeopardy right now. It's pretty apparent that there's next to no chance of him working things out with Erik ten Hag, so he'd be wise to look elsewhere and, with the Hammers reportedly already having shown an interest in him in the past, this is the move to make for both sides.

The beauty of a potential deal for Sancho, is that if he manages to impress during his time with Moyes' men, the club could always look to make the move a permanent one and Kudus could slide into a more central role as an attacking midfielder once he's back, but if it doesn't quite work out and the United man is a disaster, there's no obligation to keep him around once the loan spell is over. This one feels like a no-brainer, but if the Hammers aren't convinced, we've still got several more potential options for them to consider.

Maxwel Cornet

Another option West Ham could turn to is Maxwel Cornet, who despite being an Ivory Coast international and therefore eligible to feature at AFCON himself, could remain at the London Stadium in January given that he's only played 69 minutes of football for his country over the past 12 months and has barely featured in most squads. After a standout season at Burnley in the Premier League, Cornet joined West Ham for a fairly sizable fee back in 2022, but he's struggled to find his feet in west London so far. Naturally a left winger, the 27-year-old has been nowhere near as effective for Moyes as he was in Lancashire.

With that being said, the absence of Kudus could see Cornet offered a chance to switch flanks and get a run in the side on the right wing. He's played just once in the Premier League so far this season, but a switch to the right would offer him opportunities, even if it's just sitting behind Bowen in the pecking order, coming off the bench and making an impact in that fashion. That's still an upgrade on what he's doing right now.

The move and role change could also help spark life into his tenure at West Ham as well, becoming the catalyst for a potentially solid run with the team eventually. It might also be pretty terrible, but with Kudus only out for the African Cup of Nations, it won't exactly do too much harm to the Hammers if they give it a try. It's a low-cost, potentially high-reward type of risk and the club would be wise to at least consider it if they don't want to dive into the transfer market for a replacement.

Domenico Berardi

Another right winger that West Ham have been linked to in the past and one they could potentially revisit as they look to replace Kudus while he's away, is Domenico Berardi. The Italian has been a fantastic servant for Sassuolo for almost his entire career and he has consistently been one of the best right wingers in the entire Serie A. Aside from a very brief spell with Juventus, where the winger failed to make a single competitive appearance, he's spent his entire career with Sassuolo, but has done enough to earn a move to a bigger club.

It feels like the natural next step in his career for Berardi to take his talents outside of Italy and test his abilities overseas. The Premier League is the perfect place for him to make his next move and with Kudus out for a while, West Ham could be the perfect landing spot for the star.

The 29-year-old is closing in on his 30s and might be prepared to take on a supporting role after performing as a star for Sassuolo over the years. That would fit the needs of the Hammers perfectly, and he could come in, provide vital minutes in Kudus' absence, but also leave room for Bowen who will likely see the majority of the minutes on the right wing thrown his way. It's a win-win if you ask us.

Said Benrahma

Like Cornet, Said Benrahma is a left winger at West Ham who isn't enjoying the best of times at the club right now. He isn't quite the same player that tore defences apart with Brentford in the Championship, but the 28-year-old actually had a solid start to life at the Hammers and the last two seasons in particular have been pretty impressive for him.

Things haven't been quite the same this time around, though, and his form has disappeared. He has struggled to make an impact on the team whenever he's given the chance, and as a result, his time in the lineup has taken a hit. So far, he's played eight league games for West Ham this season and rumours have begun to circulate about a potential departure in January.

If the Hammers don't want to go out and spend millions on a replacement for Kudus, considering he's only gone temporarily, then they'd be fools to let Benrahma go. Instead, they should consider giving the star a chance on the right wing as opposed to the left to see if that can bring about a return to form for him. Sure, he's naturally a left winger, but he has a tendency to cut in onto his right foot anyway, so he might actually adapt quite nicely on the right flank. It's not a guaranteed success by any means, but it's surely worth a chance at least.

Kudus has had an incredible start to life in England with West Ham, so we're not saying any of these stars could particularly come into the Hammers' lineup and produce a similar level of performance and impact. That's a lot to ask of anyone, but they don't need the exact same output, just someone to fill in temporarily for their talisman while he's away, and we think these five names are the best options they could turn to.