West Ham United will be hesitant to lose midfielder Tomas Soucek this summer as rumours continue to swirl surrounding his future, according to journalist Dean Jones.
What’s the latest transfer news involving Tomas Soucek?
As per Football Insider, West Ham United are fearful that they could lose Soucek this summer as the forthcoming transfer window draws closer.
The 28-year-old has been a key figure under David Moyes this season; however, he is coming into the final year of his £65k-a-week contract at the London Stadium and could seek a new challenge in the off-season. The same outlet details that the Hammers have the option to extend his contract by another 12 months, which they are pondering activating to ‘protect his value’.
Soucek’s teammate Declan Rice has also been extensively linked with an exit from West Ham and has attracted interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, according to The Daily Mail.
Rice has ambitions of competing in the Champions League and West Ham feel that sanctioning his departure could be ‘inevitable’, though they will only move to sell him for the right price.
In the case both Soucek and Rice leave West Ham, it could leave David Moyes with a restructuring job to do concerning his engine room heading into 2023/24.
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jones thinks that West Ham could look to keep hold of Soucek for longer to avoid the double blow of losing his services alongside Rice.
Jones told FFC: “Well, they hope not, they’d probably be looking to extend his time at the club rather than end his time at the club. That’s definitely a situation they want to avoid. I think it would be a major problem for West Ham if they were to lose Rice and Soucek in the same transfer window.”
Should West Ham United keep hold of Tomas Soucek this summer?
Soucek has been a regular fixture in the West Ham side this term and has featured 45 times in total, registering three goals and six assists, as per Transfermarkt.
The 28-year-old has also been the Hammers’ third-most consistent performer behind teammate Rice and Lucas Paqueta this season, racking up an average rating of 6.82/10 for his exploits on the pitch, according to WhoScored.
Change looks likely to be in the air at West Ham come the end of 2022/23 and they could have a big hole to fill in the side if Rice is to leave the London Stadium.
Moyes won’t want Soucek to follow him out of the door, given his experience, meaning it would make sense to keep the Czech international around for another year or two in east London.
