West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek is now testing the club’s pay structure as he seeks an improved contract with the Hammers.
That’s according to transfer insider Dean Jones, who has been speaking to Give Me Sport about Soucek’s contract situation.
Jones claims that Soucek was seeking a deal worth around £120,000-a-week but may now demand more amid Kurt Zouma’s controversy.
Zouma was filmed kicking his cat, sparking outrage both inside and outside the footballing world.
West Ham fined Zouma two weeks wages, which came out to £125,000-a-week, making him one of the club’s highest earners.
The Daily Mail then reported that the likes of Declan Rice, Soucek, Pablo Fornals and Vladimir Coufal were unhappy at learning they earned significantly less than Zouma.
Jones now claims that Soucek may ask for even more money having previously aimed for just less than Zouma’s earnings.
West Ham have a solid pay structure, but Soucek is now the first player to really test this according to Jones, with talks ongoing.
“The first player to really test this pay system is Soucek,” said Jones. “He’s in talks now over a new deal and will surely use the information to leverage his own terms.”
“He was hoping for around £120,000-a-week but will now have grounds to get that and maybe more!” he added.
Soucek, 26, joined West Ham on an initial loan deal from Slavia Prague in January 2020.
The Hammers turned the deal permanent for around £15million, having already paid £4million for the loan.
Soucek was outstanding last season, bagging 10 goals from midfield as he posed a major aerial threat.
The goals have dried up a little this season with Soucek having to play a more reserved role, allowing Declan Rice to get forward more.
West Ham need to keep key players like Soucek happy, and that may mean digging deep and paying out big contracts.
The Zouma situation has been a nightmare throughout, and may now lead to some difficult contract negotiations.
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