Is the Czech Republic revolution over at West Ham United?
Alex Kral flopped, Vladimir Coufal could be on his way out in January, and Thomas Soucek, one of the Premier League’s most effective and consistent central midfielders two years ago, continues to look like a pale imitation of his once-irrepressible best.
Soucek scored 10 league goals in the 2020/21 season. His tally dropped to a still-respectable six in 2021/22. This term, however, the 6ft 4ins man mountain has just two to his name; one across 15 top-flight fixtures.
It’s not just in the final third either where Soucek’s influence appears to be waning. His pass completion rate of 76 per cent is well down on his 2020/21 average, and fairly dire for a central midfielder plying his trade for a Premier League team with European ambitions. His number of aerial duels won per game, meanwhile, has fallen from 6.5 to just 2.2 in the space of two years (WhoScored).
Soucek has also been subbed off more times in his last two matches than across the last two seasons combined.
Tomas Soucek under threat as West Ham United target midfield signings
“At the start (of the season), I didn’t play my best, especially in the first five games,” Soucek admits. “I tried to do even more because I was frustrated that I didn’t do best on the pitch. So I did even more at the training ground.
“It’s very difficult to be at the top level in the whole of your career. I always give my maximum on the pitch, but sometimes I do not play to my best. When this happens, I try different things to get back to my best.”
With West Ham reportedly showing an interest in a number of midfield targets ahead of the January transfer window, the £15 million signing from Slavia Prague could soon be facing genuine competition for starting spot for the first time since arriving in the English capital back in July 2020.
According to Goal, West Ham have held talks with Marseille misfit Gerson. The Brazil international, desperate to leave after falling out of favour under Igor Tudor, is available for just £13 million.
A wonderfully-balanced ball-carrier, Gerson is certainly a superior technician than the often-cumbersome Soucek. His tally of 11 goals in 2021/22, meanwhile, is better than the numbers Soucek produced during even his most prolific spell in claret-and-blue.
Gerson, Djibril Sow and Ibrahim Sangare on David Moyes’ radar
Per Sport1, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Djibril Sow is another target. While not quite so effective inside the penalty area, Sow is a real Swiss Army Knife of a footballer. One who can control the tempo with his impressive distribution and excellent work ethic. Sow, the £25 million-rated orchestrator behind Frankfurt’s Europa League-winning campaign, completes 86 per cent of his passes in the Bundesliga, compared to Soucek’s 76 per cent in the Premier League.
With a £34 million price-tag on his head, PSV Eindhoven’s Ivorian man-mountain Ibrahim Sangare is the most expensive of West Ham’s midfield targets. He, like Sow and Gerson, is a powerful, imposing presence at over 6ft. But it’s Sangare’s blend of tenacity and technique that makes him an upgrade on Soucek; a dictator as well as a destroyer.
Who knows? Perhaps some added competition will shake Soucek from his slumber. Perhaps it will light a fire under one of West Ham’s most impressive performers during David Moyes’ second spell at the London Stadium. Soucek does not seem like the sort of character to shirk a challenge, after all.
Maybe a spell out of the XI, and out of the firing line, could do him some good in the long run.
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