West Ham United have completed the loan signing of Slavia Prague centre-midfielder Tomas Soucek, with an option to buy in the summer, as confirmed by the club.
The 24-year-old could prove to be an invaluable signing if he helps to keep the Hammers in the Premier League past the current campaign.
There is an indication that he could be a very useful addition to the squad, having managed 10 goals in 23 appearances across the Czech league and Champions League before making the move to London Stadium.
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His efforts in his homeland’s top tier may be discredited by some, due to the fact that it is a lesser level, so his performances across the six Champions League appearances made may be the best indicator of what he could offer – as they saw him face Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Internazionale.
The Czech Republic international made 2.5 tackles per game, but did commit 2.2 fouls and was dribbled past 1.7 times per game.
In addition, he averaged 2.5 interceptions, 2.8 clearances and 0.5 blocks per game, indicating that he had a massive involvement in Slavia Prague’s defensive game.
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There was also quality shown on the ball, as the 24-year-old made 1 key pass, 0.5 dribbles and was fouled 1.5 times per game, while maintaining a pass success rate of 82.6%.
All of the above indicates that Soucek could prove to be the type of player who would be an effective partner for Declan Rice.
There are obvious bonuses to this, but one of the biggest of those is that Mark Noble would finally have some of the pressure that has been on his shoulders alleviated.
The West Ham cult hero struggled at times against Liverpool, giving the ball away in dangerous areas and looking off the pace – Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop were the only starters who worsened his 6.1 WhoScored rating.
However, there has been no scope for the key figure to be rested, as Carlos Sanchez cannot be trusted, which has been shown by the fact that he has played just 113 minutes of Premier League football this season and was hauled off at half time during the 1-0 FA Cup loss against West Bromwich Albion.
Having replaced the Colombian in that game, Noble told talkSPORT: “At a club at this level with the money we’ve spent, you can’t rely on me. You can’t rely on me to come on at half-time during an FA Cup game – that shouldn’t be like that.”
By recruiting Soucek, there is a chance West Ham have ensured that is no longer the case.
Meanwhile, West Ham’s three defensive targets reported by ExWHUemployee are analysed.
