Mohammed Kudus, a Ghana international, considers his maiden season in the Premier League a success.

The 23-year-old, who moved from Ajax to West Ham United last summer, has emerged as an important player for the Hammers, scoring 13 goals in 43 games.

Despite recent struggles for the squad, Kudus remains optimistic about his time in England’s top flight.

In an interview with the club’s official website prior to their last home game against Luton Town, he thanked his teammates for their assistance in settling him in and underlined his desire to continue growing in the next season.

“I liked my first season in England. Everyone at [the Club] has helped me adjust well, so it’s been a pleasant experience. I’ve been here for over a whole season, but I still have a lot to show, and I feel this is only the beginning.”

He added, “I followed my gut and dream to move here and believed I was ready. When I decided to make this move to the best league in the world, I knew I was ready to take that step and I wanted to test myself. There have been ups and downs throughout the season, but I know there are more ways to improve my game. I’ve definitely announced myself here and I am happy that it has gone in that direction for the first season.”

Looking ahead, Kudus emphasised the team’s growth and the need to finish the season on a positive note.

He replied, “We can only look forward to what is ahead. Our position [in the standings] improved from the previous season to this season, so we simply need to finish as high as possible with excellent performances in the last two games and then see what happens next season.”

Kudus is expected to play a key part in West Ham’s upcoming match against West Ham, as they want to recover from a recent devastating setback to Chelsea.

Bayer Leverkusen achieved a new European undefeated streak of 49 games with a late draw against Roma to advance to the Europa League final.

Josip Stanisic scored the game’s final kick in the 97th minute, giving Xabi Alonso’s team a 2-2 tie and a 4-2 aggregate triumph.

Roma, who had lost the first leg in Italy but improved significantly in Germany, levelled the tie with two Leandro Paredes penalties.

However, a devastating own goal by Gianluca Mancini gave Leverkusen a significant edge in the two-legged semi-final, before Croatian defender Stanisic made history with the latest in a long series of Leverkusen late goals.

They have now gone 49 games without a loss in all competitions, with 40 wins.

It implies that Leverkusen has bettered Benfica’s undefeated streak from December 1963 to February 1965.

According to Uefa, the Portuguese giants had the longest undefeated streak since the inception of European play, until this incredible Leverkusen season.

Alonso’s men, who are aiming for a quadruple this season after winning the Bundesliga championship and reaching the German Cup final, will meet Italian side Atalanta in the Europa League finale in Dublin on 22 May.

Andre Ayew has voiced faith in the current Black Stars team.

The Black Stars have recently performed below expectations in important events.

In the previous two Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) championships, the squad failed to go beyond the group stage in their quest to end the country’s trophy drought.

Similarly, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, they were eliminated early in the group stage.

Nonetheless, Ayew, the team’s current captain, feels that young stars like Mohammed Kudus, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Ibrahim Osman are making key contributions as the Black Stars seek to reclaim their previous glory.

Ayew reflected on the team’s history, saying, “We dominated for several years.” I was a member of this squad with the golden generation. Then there was the generation of Mubarak Wakaso, Asamoah Gyan, and John Mensah. “Now there is a new generation coming,” Ayew stated on Canal+.

Despite the great expectations put on the current squad, Ayew is optimistic about Ghana’s future in football.

“There is a lot of pressure.” Even though this generation dominated, we were unable to win. So this adds to the pressure and demands, and the country wants even more,” the Le Havre player revealed. Today’s players lack the experience of those I just highlighted,” he remarked.

Ayew emphasised the gap in experience between the current players and previous stalwarts, but he remained enthusiastic about the team’s prospects.

Meanwhile, the Black Stars will reconvene in June for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic.