No wonder Tomas Soucek looked tired. Wouldn’t you?
Throughout 2021/22, West Ham United’s Czech Republic international played 63 times for club and country. There were a further 56 outings in 2020/21. If anyone is entitled to feel a little sluggish, to feel as if his very limbs are coming apart at the seams, it’s Soucek.
Much has been made of the 27-year-old’s rather underwhelming form in recent months but those labelling Soucek a ‘one season wonder’ are missing the point. Sometimes, there really is a simpler explanation.
With a pre-season and a couple of weeks of rest under his belt, don’t be surprised if Soucek returns to being the belligerent box-to-box force he was some 18 months ago, breaking up attacks at one end before popping up to power home a header at the other.
Nonetheless, with Mark Noble retiring and Alex Kral on his way, West Ham cannot afford to let the transfer window pass them by without bringing in a new central midfielder. Soucek’s anti-climactic 2021/22 is proof of what can happen when a player is overworked. And David Moyes has even fewer midfielders now than they did a couple of weeks ago.
Will West Ham go for Santiago Ascacibar again?
Fortunately, West Ham seem to have recognised the need to bring in some welcome competition in central areas. The Hammers looked at Marc Roca before Leeds United swooped in. Ditto Inter Milan-bound Kristijan Asllani. Palmeiras’ Danilo has also been linked, as has Burnley’s Josh Brownhill, with former London Stadium starlet Josh Cullen another reportedly on Moyes’ radar.
But what about Santiago Ascacibar? A name that may be familiar to some supporters, having been linked with the Hammers during 2019.
According to Argentina publication TNT Sports, West Ham looked at Ascacibar after an impressive spell at Stuttgart, a claim backed up by one well-renowned club insider. A fiery, feisty little midfielder, the 5ft 6ins ankle-biter was one of the Bundesliga’s rising stars at the time.
“I really like his style of play,” said compatriot Javier Mascherano, one of the finest defensive midfielders of his generation.
“Ascacibar seems to me to be a great player. If he keeps improving, he’ll end up being a very important player in European football and also for the Argentina national team.”
Things haven’t quite worked out like that. Ascacibar has been a victim of the Hertha Berlin churn since joining one of Europe’s most calamitous clubs for around £9 million, and he hasn’t played for his country since 2018.
‘I really want a change of scenery’
Ascacibar is far from finished, however. He’s just 25. And there is no reason why a fresh start cannot do him the world of good, catapulting him back into the international scene before the Qatar World Cup.
“I really want a change of scenery. I don’t know where, but I’m sure I want to change (clubs),” Ascacibar tells TyC Sports.
As of yet, there is no suggestion that West Ham remain interested in a player who’s development – like that of so many others – has plateaued in the potential-sapping Sarlacc Pit that is Hertha Berlin. But that could, and perhaps should, change.
A belated summer switch to West Ham feels like exactly what Ascacibar – and Tomas Soucek for that matter – needs.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
