2.4%-owned Mohammed Kudus now statistically the most in-form player in Dream Team but AFCON looms large

THIS is not the first time we’ve addressed the success of West Ham’s midfielders in Dream Team this season.

But it’s worth repeating because one of the season’s most prominent themes has grabbed the spotlight once again in Gameweek 16.

At the time of writing, Jarrod Bowen (£5.3), James Ward-Prowse (£4.4m), Lucas Paqueta (£4.1m) and Mohammed Kudus (£4.5m) are all among the top seven assets in their position!

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For the purposes of this article, the focus is on the latter after his eye-catching brace against Wolves on Sunday.

The Ghana international benefited from two smart Paqueta passes to give the Hammers a comfortable 2-0 lead by the 32nd minute.

Having been eased in initially, Kudus now looks a vital component for David Moyes’ side, as evidenced by the fact he’s now statistically Dream Team’s most in-form player.

The 23-year-old has plundered 32 points across his last three outings, more than any other player in the same time frame.

More broadly, he’s been rising sharply up the rankings ever since Gameweek 10 – he’s banked 88 points in 11 outings in that time!

Bowen remains the Dream Team midfielder with the most goals to his name having notched his 11th to seal the 3-0 victory over Wolves at the weekend but Kudus is now joint second having drawn level with Bukayo Saka (£6.6m) on eight goals (all competitions).

It should also be noted that the ex-Ajax talent earned five bonus points against Gary O’Neil’s side, the maximum available for a single game.

When all was said and done, Kudus took 20 points from the fixture, making him Gameweek 16’s top performer at the time of writing.

He may even be in action again with West Ham set to face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night.

The numbers are undeniable but the fact is very few Dream Team gaffers have benefited from Kudus’ immense form.

His ownership currently sits at a modest 2.4%, although it wouldn’t be a surprise if he ended up among the most-popular recruits ahead of Gameweek 17, not that the Irons have particularly appealing fixtures – Manchester United (h), Arsenal (a).

It may be that Kudus’ ownership is yet to reflect his quality because Dream Team bosses are so spoiled for choice when browsing West Ham midfielders but he’s comfortably outscored Ward-Prowse of late and the latter features in 19.8% of teams.

The set-piece specialist, who has nine assists to his name already, has been fantastic this season (hence his overall tally of 134 points) but Kudus is unquestionably the man of the moment.

That being said, the Africa Cup of Nations looms large with the international tournament scheduled to get underway in January.

Still, with two weekly transfers available, Dream Team managers could back Kudus for some short-term gains over the festive period.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk