West Ham set rivalries aside with Mohammed Kudus as Tottenham winger has wooden elephant used for goal celebrations returned after derby win

Kudus spent two seasons with West Ham after joining them from Ajax in 2023. He became a fan favourite at the London Stadium courtesy of his trickery, ball-carrying ability and willingness to run at opponents.

East End natives were less than impressed when he completed a big-money move across the English capital. Kudus was back in familiar surroundings when facing West Ham for the first time as a Spurs player, with a 3-0 victory being enjoyed in a game that saw Tomas Soucek sent off for the hosts.

After that fixture, Kudus was reunited with the wooden stool that formed part of goal celebrations towards the end of his time with the Hammers. He had started out by hopping onto the advertising hoardings, before incorporating the chairs used by ball boys and stewards into his routine.

Kudus said of his unique perch: "It’s a special stool, a stool from Ghana. With my celebration, I see a lot of competitors and people doing it so I thought, ‘Why not do something different?’

"It’s my roots. Where I come from, the chiefs and the kings, they sit on stools where are they are from. So I thought it would be nice to share a little bit of life where I am from. As you know there’s a lot of people sitting on the boards now and there’s a lot of conversations about it. This is mine now and no one (else) can do it!"

Kudus has helped Tottenham to three victories and nine points through their opening four games of the 2025-26 Premier League season. In contrast, West Ham have just three points to their name and sit inside the relegation zone, with pressure mounting on manager Graham Potter.