11 goals and three assists in his second season in the Dutch top-flight were in stark contrast to his first (2021/22), where he managed just the one goal and one assist in 16 games.
Hammers' technical director at the time, Tim Steidten, clearly saw something in the player that he thought would complement what the east Londoners already had in situ and, along with Edson Alvarez, Kudus made his way to the London Stadium.
His impact was relatively immediate thanks to his ability to keep the ball and his physical strength, and by the end of the 2023/24 campaign, he had managed a reasonable eight goals and six assists in what is a notoriously tough Premier League.
Kudus has gone right off the boil
In the last 12 months, however, Kudus has gone off the boil spectacularly. Just five goals and three assists in 32 games (2,601 minutes is the most he's played in any season) were the sum total of his campaign.
Where once he was rampaging through defences and scoring goals of the highest quality, 2024/25 has seemingly seen Kudus carrying a huge burden.
In fact, so poor has he been in some games that the Hammers are genuinely thinking of cashing in, though their £85 million valuation of the player is a little on the high side to say the least.
A passing range that has never dipped below 84.5% in his time in East London, and has actually improved over the past 12 months, evidences an excellence in associative play with his colleagues.
He's also won back possession on an incredible 376 separate occasions in the two seasons that he's been plying his trade at the London Stadium.
A 60.5% tackle success rate in 24/25 is another nod to the more physical side of his game, which he clearly enjoys as much as being more fleet of foot when required.
Shooting accuracy has to be improved
If there's one area that requires a vast improvement, however, it's with regard to his shooting.
A shot accuracy of 47.8% last season is decent without being great, but a shot conversion rate of just 6.7% is an abomination for a player of his quality.
Whether there's a lack of belief in that part of his game - as it's the worst reading of his career to date - isn't clear, but it is perhaps the weakness in that area of late that has forced the Hammers hierarchy to consider accepting offers on a player who not two years ago seemed destined for greatness.
He hasn't quite gone from hero to zero with the London Stadium faithful, though he's no longer a darling of the terraces in the same ways as he was when seducing the claret and blue army in his debut season with the club.
Money earned from his sale would also be incredibly handy for a West Ham side going through yet another transitional period.
Chelsea offer pick of five players to Hammers
Multiple reports have surfaced suggesting that Chelsea offered a pick of some of their players in exchange for Kudus, albeit Hammers chairman, David Sullivan, was never going to be persuaded to take on the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Robert Sanchez, Carney Chukwuemeka, Tosin Adarabioyo or Trevoh Chalobah.
Aside from the latter, none of the rest have really hit the heights under Enzo Maresca, and even taking Graham Potter's knowledge of Chelsea's squad into account, a deal for any of those mentioned wouldn't appear to make an awful lot of sense.
The Hammers seem perfectly happy with their goalkeeping situation at present. Dewsbury-Hall has hardly featured over the past 18 months, and if Chukwuemeka and Adarabioyo are surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge, why would the Chelsea hierarchy believe that those players would then be good enough for their London rivals?
Moreover, where would Kudus actually fit in at Chelsea, given how many attacking midfielders they already have in their squad?
Sancho swap a no-go
A move to Manchester United in a swap deal for Jadon Sancho had also been mooted, though it's understood that the club hierarchy weren't overly sold on where the player, who spent last season on loan at Chelsea, would best fit in Graham Potter's system, hence why negotiations failed.
It's abundantly clear then that even if West Ham are to get anywhere close to their asking price, Kudus has to knuckle down and prove himself again, perhaps in the first part of the season, and then expect to be sold to the highest bidder in January - unless clubs are willing to take a calculated risk in the second transfer window of the summer.
It benefits no one to have an unhappy player in the squad, of course, and one who can then prove to be disruptive in the dressing room. Better to engineer a move away as soon as practicable in order to wipe the slate clean and begin again.
The Ghanaian is still young enough to become a player of some distinction; however, those numbers have to be improved upon, whether he's at West Ham, Chelsea or anywhere else. A career crossroads has already been reached.
