West Ham United must axe Tomas Soucek for second half v Chelsea
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek had a terrible first half against Chelsea and David Moyes needs to axe him at the break.
There were many eyebrows raised when the 28-year-old was named in the starting eleven ahead of new signing Edson Alvarez.
The Czech Republic international was among the worst players for the Hammers last season which is what made his inclusion surprising.
Soucek was absolutely embarrassed when Carney Chukwuemeka took the ball beyond him inside the penalty area to find the back of the net.
He even conceded the penalty by making a silly challenge on Raheem Sterling and this is not what Moyes wants from his players.
The 28-year-old looked like someone whose best days are behind him and he’s become a major liability for this Hammers team.
Once seen as the powerhouse of this midfield, he’s now costing the team far more than what he’s earning them and Alvarez has to come on in the second period.
He completed just seven passes in the first half, per Sofascore, and was not impressive at winning the ball back either.
He lost 66 per cent of his aerial duels and the same proportion of his ground duels with Chelsea easily winning the midfield battle.
Soucek had the chance to assert his physicality on the likes of Chuwuemeka and Conor Gallagher but he failed to do that.
It will be a real surprise if Moyes does not hook him off for Alvarez at half time or sometime during the second half of the game.
In other West Ham news, the club have now opened advanced talks with a Premier League player who appears to be open on leaving his side this summer.