Garth Crooks believes West Ham United already have their Declan Rice replacement in Tomas Soucek
Garth Crooks has suggested that West Ham United may already have their Declan Rice replacement, in the form of Tomas Soucek.
The Czech international scored a late winner for the Hammers in their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday (12 November), his third goal of the Premier League campaign and potentially his most important so far.
The Irons midfield underwent a huge transformation over the summer, with the likes of James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez signed to replace the outgoing Rice. But BBC pundit Crooks believes that Soucek has been the man to step up and replace the England international.
Writing in his BBC Sport Team of the Week (13 November) he said: “They may have lost Declan Rice but if Soucek keeps getting into goalscoring positions with the same regularity he did against Nottingham Forest then the departure of the England midfielder to Arsenal will not feel so bad.
“Soucek was unlucky when he chipped Forest keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos only to see his effort hit the bar and he then had a header brilliantly saved.”
Very different
David Moyes has received plenty of criticism in recent weeks for the Hammers’ recent poor Premier League form and it is perhaps been forgotten just how good a job the Scotsman did over the summer in creating a new strong midfield after Rice’s sale.
Soucek alone hasn’t stepped up in Rice’s absence, but the combination of him, Ward-Prowse and Alvarez is an incredibly well-balanced midfield trio that will be incredibly effective out of possession and carry an immense threat when going forward.
The Czech international battled well on Sunday, winning every one of his nine duels in the match and should have really scored more than once as he missed two big chances, including hitting the woodwork with his attempted lob of Vlachodimos.
There are few better players equipped to thrive from Ward-Prowse’s delivery from set pieces than the 28-year-old midfield who seems to win every header he jumps for. He may not be a direct replacement for Rice, but his excellent form this season has certainly softened the blow of losing him to Arsenal as Crooks suggested.
In other West Ham news, Slaven Bilic has revealed the details of a conversation he had with Wayne Rooney