Mohammed Kudus explains the deep meaning behind his celebration after scoring for West Ham in draw against Brighton

Mohammed Kudus plonked down his little wooden stool, took a seat next to Crysencio Summerville, and soaked in the adulation.

The winger had just nodded in West Ham’s equaliser against Brighton, his third goal of the season, to make it three unbeaten for Julen Lopetegui’s side.

Kudus usually celebrates by sitting on the advertising hoardings or a ball boy’s plastic seat but at the London Stadium he unveiled a wooden stool in the shape of an elephant, a nod to his Ghanaian culture.

‘Where I come from, the chiefs and the kings, they sit on stools,’ said Kudus. ‘I thought it would be nice to share a little bit of life where I am from.’

Performances like this remind you why, for so much of last season, he was West Ham royalty.

He’s struggled to replicate it this term under Lopetegui and there’s been rumours the club might look to offload him, but only for eyewatering sums, to free up funds in January.

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui stated he was happy with Kudus’ defensive commitment

On this performance, he showed how much more important he could be with the West Ham shirt still on his back.

What made his manager happiest was seeing winger roll up his sleeves as Kudus made three tackles against Brighton and won possession more than any other West Ham player.

‘I’m not only happy with his goal, I’m happy with his commitment,’ said Lopetegui. ‘He’s improving a lot in his defensive commitment. The only way to achieve the level that he can achieve, and we talked a lot with him about this, is to be focused on the hard work for the team. To become a big and strong winger you have to do this – and he’s trying.’