A top West Ham star has made a big admission about playing for David Moyes amid links with a move to Everton.
There was an inevitability that David Moyes might come for West Ham players after being appointed as Everton boss.
First he brought in some of the staff he worked with at the London Stadium.
And almost immediately came the stories that Moyes wanted some of his Hammers favourites at Everton.
There is set to be something of a role reversal between West Ham and Everton this summer.
PSR has been restricting the Toffees in recent seasons.
Now, with £80m losses on the horizon, West Ham face a tightening of the transfer belt.
As a result Graham Potter must sell a raft of players to raise funds for new arrivals.
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Whenever a club changes manager there will be players he inherits that he wants to move on.
That will be the case for Moyes at Everton and it certainly is for Potter at West Ham.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Moyes ‘wants two West Ham stars’ at Everton this summer
Ahead of his big West Ham reunion Moyes has admitted it will be difficult facing his old side.
Chiefly because he has such close bonds with a number of his former players.
There were two players the Scot signed while manager of West Ham who were by far and away his favourites.
Moyes affectionately refers to Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal as ‘my Czech boys’.
He has singled Soucek and Coufal out for praise time and again, saying they were key in transforming the culture at West Ham in his time there.
Even when Moyes received an OBE in the New Year’s Honours, he dedicated it to West Ham and then said he wants his old club to do well due to his affinity with the likes of Soucek and Coufal.
Soucek remains a key player for West Ham, establishing himself in the side under Julen Lopetegui and now Potter.
He has had his doubters at West Ham in recent seasons, though.
And some believe he will ultimately not fit into the way Potter wants West Ham to play.
Meanwhile right-back Coufal has been heavily linked with a move away from West Ham having fallen down the pecking order following the arrival of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Soucek’s admission about playing for Moyes amid Everton links
Claret and Hugh, a site with close links to the Hammers board, recently claimed Moyes wants to bring both Soucek and Coufal to Everton this summer.
Now one of those West Ham stars has made a big admission about playing for Moyes amid the Everton links.
Soucek has been speaking about his old manager ahead of their reunion.
He was gushing in his praise of the Scot and says the pair ‘have a great connection’.
“We had a lot of good times working together,” Soucek said of Moyes on West Ham’s official website.
“So I have a great connection with him and I’m really happy that things are going well for him at Everton.
“Obviously though, I hope they lose on Saturday!
“We know it won’t be easy, but it’s up to us to bounce back after Monday and get points from the game.”
Soucek is indisputably Moyes’ second best West Ham signing behind Jarrod Bowen.
The pair both arrived in the January window in 2020, Soucek joining from Slavia Prague for £13.5m.
He has become such a fundamental player, it is difficult to see West Ham agreeing to sell him to Everton.
But if the Toffees have more freedom to spend this summer, as Moyes has claimed, and they make West Ham a big offer, the club’s own financial situation may dictate otherwise.
Much will also depend on whether Potter sees Soucek as a key player moving forward.