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Why Thomas Frank should drop Mohammed Kudus vs. Sunderland – View

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Jan 2, 2026 12:59 PM ET

Thomas Frank must drop Mohammed Kudus against Sunderland after his poor performance in the 0-0 draw with Brentford.

Tottenham Hotspur entered the 2025/26 season with renewed optimism, believing they had done enough in the summer transfer window to address the holes in the squad for new boss Thomas Frank. After a decent start to the campaign, the Lilywhites have struggled to string together positive results.

Thomas Frank’s system and style of play have left the majority of fans frustrated. Pressure has continued to rise on the Dane in the last couple of months due to his team’s dull and tepid displays. Spurs started 2026 with a bland 0-0 draw with London rivals Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. The north Londoners have dropped to 12th in the table after winning just two of their last 10 Premier League outings.

There has been a lot of talk around Tottenham’s struggles in attack. Spurs had barely anything to show for going forward in the goalless draw with Brentford. And one player in particular who failed to make any kind of impact in the game was Mohammed Kudus.

Mohammed Kudus has been Spurs’ brightest attacking spark in the first half of the season. In the absence of two key creators in James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, coupled with fellow summer signing Xavi Simons’ slow start to life in England, the Ghana international has performed very well after arriving from bitter London rivals West Ham United.

Mohammed Kudus was poor in the 0-0 draw with Brentford

However, in recent weeks, Kudus has looked like a pale shadow of himself. Assists, chance creations and goals have dried up, with the 24-year-old appearing leggy of late. Against Brentford, where Tottenham barely created anything, the right-winger struggled to impose himself in the game.

Indeed, the creative Ghanaian’s performance was clear to see in his stats from the game, courtesy of FotMob. Playing the full 90 minutes, Kudus recorded just 78 per cent pass accuracy, only had a 33 per cent shot accuracy, and failed to create a single chance for his teammates. Other than one attempt that sailed over the bar, he kept running into herd of Brentford players and lost possession- in total 5 times.

The African was tad selfish, managing just 50 per cent accurate balls and 33 per cent successful dribbles. He won just 3/13 ground duels (23 per cent), which paints a clear picture of why the left-footed attacker was unimpactful in the final third for Tottenham. No one can fault Kudus’ work rate as he put in a tireless shift, made seven recoveries, one interception and one clearance.

Thomas Frank should drop Kudus vs. Sunderland

However, the Tottenham No.20’s all-round display was extremely poor as the visitors could only muster three shots on target as a team and failed to create a solitary big chance. It very much looks like Kudus is tired and could do with a breather.

Tottenham welcome Sunderland to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their first home game of 2026. Sunderland have enjoyed a tremendous return to the top flight and ended Manchester City’s six-game winning run in the league by holding them to a 0-0 draw at home in midweek. Regis Le Bris’ side are a hard-working, diligent, pressing and aggressive side who will ask questions of Spurs.

Thus, if the Lilywhites are to compete well and win against the Black Cats, Frank has to make some bold calls. And going by Kudus’ recent displays, the Dane must drop him from the side and hand Wilson Odobert a chance on the right flank on Sunday.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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