Man Utd and Everton handed huge boost as West Ham dealt 'stupid' £38m blow

Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton will not have to worry about the pace and potency of West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus in upcoming Premier League matches after the winger was sent off on Saturday afternoon.

The Hammers endured a torrid visit to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur despite signs of a resurgence before the international break with a draw against Brentford and a win over Ipswich Town. Julen Lopetegui's side put in a strong first half showing, going into the break at 1-1 but capitulated in the second half to lose 4-1.

It was Ghana international Kudus who bagged that opening goal for West Ham but the forward lost his cool in the second half. With just minutes left to play, the winger appeared to kick out at Spurs defender Micky van de Ven and went on to push several opposition players in a debacle branded as ‘stupid’.

Kudus, who joined West Ham for £38 million in August 2023, was shown a yellow card by referee Andrew Madley but the official was sent to the screen by VAR and soon reversed that decision in favour of a straight red. The Premier League Match Centre account on social media platform X wrote: "The referee issued a yellow card to Kudus. The VAR deemed that his actions were violent conduct and recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card."

That straight red card means that Kudus, who has two goals in his last two top flight outings, will miss the upcoming visit of Manchester United to the London Stadium, as well as the trip to Nottingham Forest and visit of Everton.

Reacting to the red card after the match, Lopetegui said: "I did not see the action back on TV but I think that if the referee reviewed it and decided that it was a red card then I cannot have a doubt.

"Maybe it is another point to improve, when we suffer in the bad moments we keep calm and fight to the end as a team."