**West Ham** spent most of yesterday batting away suggestions that they had told popular midfielder Tomas Soucek he could buzz off and find another club next season.
But while [London Stadium](https://www.claretandhugh.info/london-stadium-bio/) insiders and Team Soucek were rubbishing those rumours, comments from another Hammers midfielder, Guido Rodríguez, slipped under the radar.
Up until his inclusion in the starting line-up when West Ham played Manchester United at Old Trafford last week, most had assumed the Argentinian would be one of the first players out the door this summer.
After all, the former World Cup winner has spent most of this season either warming the bench or chasing far quicker shadows in midfield when he did play. Rumours persisted of Rodríguez wanting to return to La Liga, and it appeared West Ham—in their haste to sign the free [transfer](https://www.claretandhugh.info/west-ham-transfer-news/)—had made ‘Rodders’ one of the club’s highest earners.
However, the midfielder’s performance against Man United and some subsequent comments have indicated that his London Stadium exit may not be as cut and dried as many of us first thought.
“This season didn’t work out,” was Rodríguez’s honest appraisal of the campaign, before he continued:
“But not every season can be successful. I think we have to make the necessary self-criticism when the league is over and look at the positives for what is to come, for next year, to be able to compete better.”
Perhaps the 31-year-old is just playing the media game and doesn’t want to stir up unnecessary transfer talk. But to me, that doesn’t sound like a player who expects to be changing clubs any time soon.