West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui and player Mohammed Kudus did not have a serious confrontation at half-time against Brentford last weekend, according to insider ExWHUEmployee.

There were claims that the Ghanaian took exception to being singled out by Lopetegui after being substituted during the 1-1 draw. However, speaking on the West Ham Way podcast (quotes via their website), Ex said:

“This story surrounding Kudus has been doing the rounds in the media, so I wanted to clarify it further so it doesn’t appear more serious than it actually is. Lopetegui felt at half time that things were not working and one decision was to swap Kudus for [Carlos] Soler, for which Kudus understandably was disappointed about.”

“The player was unhappy at the time, however, we were trailing and Lopetegui has every right to make changes he feel can help the team – and in the end, we managed to get the equaliser and could have won the match. There really is nothing more than a player being unhappy in the moment, and we understand things are fine now as we prepare for the important game against Ipswich at the weekend.”

West Ham did improve in the second half on Saturday

As Ex rightly points out, the decision to replace Kudus did ultimately prove to be correct. The Hammers played much better after the break.

However, Lopetegui shouldn’t really need to make such calls at half-time in order to get performances from his players.

Lopetegui won’t last long if he can’t get the best out of Kudus

You don’t need to be an expert on football to recognise that the forward is one of the most talented players in West Ham’s squad. The fact that the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool have considered signing him in recent months demonstrates that.

However, Kudus has not scored or provided an assist in the Premier League this season, and Lopetegui has to take some responsibility. Playing him out of position on the left is definitely not helping matters.

You do think that, if the manager can’t get a tune out of Kudus then the team will ultimately suffer, and it could put Lopetegui’s job in jeopardy too.

Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here