Why Nuno Espirito Santo has brutal Divine Mukasa decision on the horizon at West Ham

Nuno Espirito Santo still has some issues to address with his West Ham United side.

The Hammers are residing in second in the Championship table, two points adrift of league leaders Swansea City.

It needed a big effort to make sure they did not go into the international break on the back of defeat to fierce rivals Millwall, though.

West Ham were trailing 2-0 at the New Den before goals from Mohamadou Kante and Konstantinos Mavropanos rescued a point.

The first season pause probably comes at a good time for West Ham, who have had an unrelenting start to the campaign.

But when domestic football does return, Nuno will soon have a brutal decision to make in regards to Divine Mukasa.

Will Divine Mukasa lose his spot in West Ham's XI?

Mukasa, 19, returned to London Stadium on a season-long loan move from Manchester City in the summer transfer window.

In seven Championship appearances, he has two goals, averages 0.6 key passes per game, and has an 84 per cent pass accuracy rate.

Mukasa has shown promise of building a decent partnership in West Ham's engine room with summer arrival Arne Engels.

But long-serving midfielder Tomas Soucek will soon be back in contention, and that might mean Mukasa has to take a seat on the bench.

Soucek returned to training earlier in September after several months on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

And you can't help but feel that Nuno is going to rely on the 31-year-old as the hustle and bustle of the Championship kicks up another gear.

Is Tomas Soucek a better fit for this West Ham side?

Soucek has often been a point of division for the West Ham fanbase.

But, prior to the international break, the Hammers conceded five goals in two games having also lost 3-2 to Fulham in the Carabao Cup.

Defensively there are still big question marks over this time, even if they do have the division's most potent attack right now.

Bringing Soucek back into the fold might just held add another layer of security, and his experience will be crucial in the big moments for West Ham.

The Hammers forked out a second-tier record sum of £22million to bring in Engels from Celtic, and it is hard to imagine he would drop out.

Which means, even if it is not popular, Mukasa could be the one to make way when Soucek is back available for Nuno.