Mohammed Kudus reportedly had a heated exchange with West Ham United manager, Julen Lopetegui during their match against Brentford, The Athletic has revealed.
The Hammers who are struggling in the Premier League headed to the Gtech Community Stadium over the weekend aiming for their second victory of the season.
However, they fell behind early due to a goal from Bryan Mbeumo just 38 seconds into the match before Tomas Soucek managed to equalize in the second half.
Kudus and Lopetegui’s confrontation occurred at halftime after the manager expressed dissatisfaction with the 24-year-old’s performance.
Feeling the criticism was unwarranted, Kudus was frustrated and was substituted by Carlos Soler shortly after.
In the post-match press conference, Lopetegui explained his decision to replace Kudus, stating, “It was for tactical reasons,” said the head coach.
“The second half we worked as a team, and for me this is a very important step. I highlighted the behaviour in the second half because I think we put on the pitch what we needed,” he added.
Sources close to Kudus, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, have denied claims that the two needed to be separated during the disagreement.
Insiders from the club assert that, the incident was exaggerated, emphasizing that training resumed normally at Rush Green on Monday.
Additionally, members of West Ham’s management reached out to Kudus’ representatives to clarify that there were no ongoing issues between the player and the coach.
After an impressive debut season under David Moyes, Kudus has yet to score for the Hammers in the current campaign, having played eight matches.
The 24-year-old will be eager to break his goal drought as West Ham prepares to host Ipswich Town at the London Olympic Stadium this weekend.
