Everton have launched a shock move for a different West Ham star after seeing a bid for Tomas Soucek rejected — and it is no coincidence after high level talks.
How West Ham could do with the David Moyes pull right now as the Scot proves he can still attract top players with his latest Everton capture.
Tyler Dibling is one of the most promising young players in Europe and has been heavily linked with West Ham for over a year.
But it is Everton under the guidance of the Hammers’ former boss who have landed Southampton’s teenage sensation.
The arrival of Dibling is not the only West Ham target the Toffees have snared as Graham Potter’s struggles on and off the pitch see the club on the brink of a crisis.
Everton pivot after Soucek bid rejected by West Ham
Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry were all linked with moves to the London Stadium this summer transfer window too.
Moyes lured them all to Everton, though, with Potter now facing the reality of a disastrous window alongside West Ham’s dismal start to the season.
Everton are not done there, though.
The Toffees have been linked with a move for Tomas Soucek ever since Moyes returned to Merseyside.
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The Scot hails Soucek as one of his best ever signings but the big Czech does not get the same level of appreciation from Potter, who has regularly dropped him from the team since taking over in January.
Moyes even credited Soucek for the part he played in his OBE.
After a summer of speculation about Everton moving for Soucek, it finally happened over the weekend.
David Moyes celebrates with a bandaged Tomas Soucek after he scored in West Ham's Europa League last 16 comeback win over Sevilla
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
The world and its wife know cash-strapped West Ham are desperate to raise funds.
So Moyes ordered the Friedkin Group to try and take advantage with an official bid for Soucek.
According to Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg, West Ham have rejected Everton’s offer for the four-time – and current – Czech footballer of the year.
“Am told Everton have had a bid turned down for Tomas Soucek,” Steinberg, who has strong contacts inside West Ham, said on X.
What happened next, though, is very suspect indeed.
Everton launch shock move for Paqueta and it is no coincidence
Everton have now launched a shock move for a different West Ham star and it is no coincidence after talks.
Daily Mail journalist Simon Jones, a top transfer insider, has claimed Moyes has switched attentions from Soucek to Lucas Paqueta in the last seven days of the window.
Jones claims Paqueta is up for a move away from east London.
That jars with the Brazil international’s own words and actions of late.
Paqueta appeared to vow he will be staying at West Ham this season after the woeful 3-0 defeat to Sunderland on the opening day.
He also made a point of pulling the West Ham badge out from his chest and thumping it after scoring a brilliant goal in the 5-1 defeat to Chelsea that followed.
David Moyes delivers instructions to Lucas Paqueta during their time together at West Ham
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Hammers supporters were infuriated when Fabrizio Romano claimed Paqueta wanted a fresh challenge on the eve of the new season.
Paqueta has cut a lonely figure at West Ham with his best friend Emerson Palmieri ostracised from the squad by Potter and looking set for a move to Marseille.
Speculation has been rife over his future with Everton now the latest club said to be interested.
The move is something of a surprise given Moyes admitted Paqueta used to have him tearing his hair out at times with the risks he took on the ball close to his own box.
That was there for all to see as Paqueta was at fault for two of Chelsea’s goals after his stunning opener, giving the ball away on the edge of his own area for one of them.
So why has Moyes suddenly switched attentions to Paqueta, seemingly out of nowhere, after the bid for Soucek was rejected?
The report has described Everton’s move as a ‘surprise’.
More to Everton’s Paqueta move than meets the eye after talks
However, on closer investigation it may be anything but – as it simply cannot be just a hopeful testing of the water.
In a major Hammers News exclusive over the weekend, West Ham’s owners revealed Spurs, Villa and two Saudi clubs want Paqueta.
Tellingly, the Hammers board offered no assurances the 27-year-old won’t be sold if they receive a satisfactory offer.
And there were no guarantees he would be adequately replaced either.
It can be no coincidence that Everton have this weekend held talks with West Ham chief David Sullivan over Soucek only to then suddenly be ready to make a bid for Paqueta.
The Brazilian has clearly come up in those Soucek talks as someone West Ham are willing to sell for the right price.
And Moyes clearly feels it may be too good an opportunity to turn down given his old club’s desperate financial situation.
This move won’t have come out of thin air and could well be one to watch in the last knockings of the window.