West Ham United manager David Moyes has revealed the significant role played by former Dutch defender John Heitinga in the signing of Ghanaian sensation Mohammed Kudus.
Both Kudus and Heitinga had previously worked together at Ajax and later joined West Ham United, with Heitinga initially taking on the role of an assistant coach at the Premier League club before Kudus’s arrival in the summer transfer window.
Moyes acknowledged Heitinga’s crucial involvement in facilitating the acquisition of the Ghanaian star for the club.
“I met Johnny in the summer a couple of times before I brought him in,” Moyes said. “I’d had some meetings him but I was also asking him about the Ajax players and what might be there.
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“I didn’t know I was going to end up getting them because they were two lads on our list of recruitment. We were keen on getting Joao Palhinha from Fulham and we didn’t get him. We were obviously looking to see who we could try and get after that. James Ward-Prowse was high on my list no matter what.
“But I was able to talk to Johnny about Edson and then Mo when he started to become a consideration. Steven Pienaar has been at Ajax as well and he was one of my ex-players [at Everton] so I phoned him about them too.”
Kudus has already made a significant impact at West Ham United, scoring two goals in the UEFA Europa League and making four substitute appearances in the English Premier League.
