5th February 2026 Daniel Luker (@danielluker_)
West Ham manager Espírito Santo should bench Tomas Souček in crucial match vs Burnley
West Ham midfielder Tomas Souček always received calls to be dropped in his six years at the club, sometimes rightfully because he does often go through awful spells of form.
I wouldn’t drop him to the bench because of his form this time, however. In fact, the Czechia international has been very impressive in recent weeks, in the Tottenham and Sunderland games especially.
However, I would leave him on the bench for two reasons. The first being the style of game, I think we will have a lot of possession on Saturday, probably more than we’d like. I think Freddie Potts would be the better choice for this game, to keep the ball ticking, a more accurate passer, a better passer to help progress the ball from midfield.
But the main reason is that I think we need him on the bench. Our bench options are so so poor, we really should have addressed this more in January. Apart from Callum Wilson and Adama Traore, there isn’t anything attacking wise on the bench.
Not only can Souček be a positive attacking change if we need him, he can also make a huge impact defensively if needed, he is just the perfect impact sub.
He can come on in attacking midfield or even up front if we need a goal, his mate runs into the box, his ability to score headers from set pieces could be crucial. Likewise, his ability to defend set pieces could also be crucial, and his defensive ability and experience in midfield could be equally as important in midfield if we’re holding onto a lead late on at Turf Moor.
It’s probably not what Nuno will do, but Potts over Souček would really benefit us on Saturday.
But the biggest decision for Nuno is in central defence, if Kilman starts I don’t think there will be any Hammers fans going into this game with confidence.