David Moyes admits West Ham desperate for Tomas Soucek to rediscover his form
David Moyes admits West Ham are desperate for Tomas Soucek to rediscover his best form for the remainder of the season and also says he needs more goals from his midfield.
The Czech Republic international’s form has dramatically declined over the past 18 months after a superb start to life at the London Stadium upon his move £19m from Slavia Prague in 2020.
This season has seen him struggle to perform in a similar vein, becoming one of the main culprits of the side’s terrible Premier League form so far this season. After hitting 10 goals in 38 outings during the 2020/21 campaign, he’s only hit once in 18 this season highlighting a dramatic drop in performance levels and influence.
And Moyes is desperate for one of his star men to recapture the sort of form that made him one of the club’s most impressive signings over the past decade.
“I think we do need Tomas more in some games than others,” Moyes admitted, via quotes by football.london. “But I still fancy [Soucek] out of the three of them. If you asked who is more likely to get more goals, I still fancy Soucek.
“At the moment, he is not doing quite [that] just now. But the other night he looked closer to it. He played a bit higher up the pitch [at Leeds], so we are really keen to get him back in goalscoring form. Goals have been a big issue for us… We need some goals from midfield.”
Hammers desperate
There has been so many factors causing West Ham’s dreadful Premier League form this season. Injuries, under-performance and lack of consistency have contributed to the club’s demise after last season’s success both domestically and on the European front.
However, one of those factors has indeed been the form of Soucek. The midfielder hit an impressive 10 goals in his first full campaign, but since then has gone on to register six goals from nearly two campaigns which certainly shows a drop in performance levels.
So far this campaign, the player has looked lost and out of touch throughout the campaign, and Moyes is certainly right to demand more from him as we approach the second half of the season.
The Hammers have scored just 15 goals in 18 games, which means they’ll need goals from all areas of the pitch if they are to rescue themselves from a needless Premier League relegation battle.
While Rice is continuing to excel in the midfield for Moyes, Soucek hasn’t followed suit and that is hurting them defensively as the England international certainly can’t do it all on his own.
If Moyes can’t get Soucek back into tip-top fettle over the next few weeks, there is Downes to call upon but a return to form for the Czech midfielder would increasingly aid their ambitions.