Say what you like about Tomas Soucek — the man is a survivor. He’s been written off more times than I can remember, yet somehow, he always finds a way back.
A player tailor-made for former West Ham boss David Moyes, I fully expected Soucek to be shown the door by Julen Lopetegui. The ex-Real Madrid and Spain manager had a reputation for slick, possession-based football — hardly the environment where a towering Czech enforcer was likely to thrive. How wrong I was.
In the end, Lopetegui used him regularly, and Graham Potter did the same when he took over. Soucek may not have enjoyed James Ward-Prowse levels of favouritism, but he remained an important part of Potter’s plans.
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Soucek is a survivor and still has much to offer West Ham
From Starter to Super-Sub
Fast-forward to now, and Soucek has become just as valuable to Nuno Espirito Santo. The 30-year-old has embraced a new role as a super-sub, scoring scrappy but vital goals from the bench in consecutive matches.
His appearance against Burnley marked his 250th game for West Ham — a milestone that underlines his commitment and stickability. Soucek might not be the prettiest player on the eye, and it’s fair to say the midfield looks more fluid without him, but he remains one thing few others in this squad are: a match-winner.
Introduced late in games, Soucek is something of a cheat code — a chaos-maker who causes problems in the box and pops up when it matters most.
There were rumours in the summer that West Ham were willing to sell him to Leeds United, and I’m glad we didn’t. If the Hammers are to stay in the Premier League, we’ll likely need to finish above Leeds — and had Soucek moved to Elland Road, he’d almost certainly have guaranteed them goals.
Fortunately, that never happened. And I’ve little doubt we’ll see Tomas Soucek find the net for West Ham again before this season is done — because that’s just what he does