Tomas Soucek scored nine Premier League goals for West Ham United last season.placeholder image
Tomas Soucek scored nine Premier League goals for West Ham United last season. | Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
Tomas Soucek has been linked with a move to Everton, however, they should target another international midfielder dumped by his manager.
There are still one or two positions where David Moyes would probably want to add more depth to his Everton squad with midfield looking light beyond the regular starters.
Idrissa Gueye signing a new contract was a boost in the summer as has been the emergence, or re-emergence, of Tim Iroegbunam as a double pivot protecting the defence. With Gueye not getting any younger, signing fresh legs but someone who is oven ready to start games would be ideal with the long-term plan being to eventually hand over the baton. With only a few days left of the transfer window most clubs won’t be easy to deal with, although one international midfielder could be the perfect option.
Who Everton should target instead of Tomas Soucek
Linked with Tomas Soucek at West Ham, Moyes has the chance to sign a younger, fitter, quicker and more dynamic midfielder instead who is used to doing Kevin de Bruyne’s dirty work on the biggest stage. Loved by Belgium’s manager, Nicolas Raskin fought his way into his country’s starting XI after a string of impressive performances for Rangers in the Europa League last season as well as dominating Old Firm derbies. It is these games when the pressure is on rather than the mundane SPFL encounters that matter most when assessing talent in Scotland.
However, the 24-year old clearly isn’t a favourite of new Gers boss Russell Martin, with the former Belgium Under-21 skipper being forced to watch from the sidelines on several occasions this season as well as for their disastrous exit at the hands of Club Bruges. From captain, player of the year and potential club record transfer, Raskin cut a frustrated figure as he watched three summer midfield signings cough up a 5-0 lead after the sending off of Max Aarons in the 4th minute when his energy and aggression might have made a difference.
Soucek is a good player, he was a great player, but he hasn’t been anywhere near the same level as when Moyes first took charge of West Ham. The Czech international was never blessed with pace or athleticism and age isn’t helping his cause. Raskin, despite his current fallout at Rangers, is on an upward curve and destined for bigger things given his presence for Belgium
What has Russell Martin said about Raskin?
When justifying Raskin being dropped, Martin didn’t make much sense when speaking about a player who was a clear standout last season: "We're trying to go as attacking as we possibly can and get as many goals on the pitch as we possibly can," said Martin. "We really like what Thelo has brought to the team, and Lyall deserves to play.
"We've just gone for real energy, real attacking intent, and hopefully it will be enough. But the team that starts the game won't be the team that finishes it, so everyone needs to be ready."
Even as a No.6 or defensive midfielder, Raskin can be seen breaking beyond strikers or getting into the box in a similar way to that of Roy Keane. Nobody in the Rangers squad has more energy with Martin’s post-match comments contradicting those that he made before his side’s exit from the Champions League: “Yeah, I think there are a few of the guys that there's a bit of uncertainty around at the moment. It's really hard to build a team around people we're not convinced or not fully sure will be here.”
No wonder Raskin isn’t happy, not that his second half display showed any signs of him downing tools. Despite the scoreline, he tried to get his team up the park, covered his full-back and centre-halves as well as looking to play with his head up. Qualities that Moyes could do with in his squad and without breaking the bank given Raskin’s current situation at Rangers and Martin’s apparent desire to force him out of the club. If Raskin was at a club like Chelsea or Spurs, clubs would be looking at upwards of £50m for his services, but any bid around the £10m mark and he could be heading down the M6.