‘Got absolutely everything’ – Connolly says Soucek can go down as West Ham great
David Connolly believes Tomas Soucek ticks every midfield box and the West Ham favourite looks destined for greatness at the London Stadium.
The Czech Republic star celebrated his one year Irons anniversary last week after his Slavia Prague loan move on January 29 2019 which he made permanent in July on a £67,000 per week deal [spotrac].
He has been an impressive figure throughout these 12 months but his recent goalscoring exploits have really shone a light on his progress and the impressive work done by the club to scout and sign a relatively unknown player on these shores.
Speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT [05/02/21] Connolly, who scored 14 goals in 48 appearances for the Hammers during the 2003/04 season, was gushing in his praise for Soucek and the scouts who found him, saying: “You have got to say it is wonderful, wonderful recruitment from West Ham. This has been a stroke of genius.
“He has got absolutely everything; he is the archetypal box-to-box midfielder and he gives them so many options.
“He does so much for West Ham as a team, with and without the ball, he has been an absolutely brilliant signing. You know what, he could go down as one of their very best.”
The main man
Who are we to argue with more Soucek propaganda.
We could say he is a favourite of ours at West Ham Zone but to be honest he is fast becoming the golden boy of the whole Premier League with his penchant for important goals from midfield a throwback to his ungainly size.
His 59% shot accuracy ranks above the likes of perennial Golden Boot frontrunners Mohamed Salah (58%) and Harry Kane (47%).
The only other central midfielder to sit in the top 25 goal scorers is Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan who has seven compared to Soucek’s eight.
His all-round game is shown in his 157 defensive duels which ranks 16th in the Premier League while his league-high 241 aerial duels come at a rate of 10.23 per 90 [Wyscout].
What a year it has been so far with Soucek in the middle of midfield with the Irons currently setting their sights on the European places.
We can’t wait to see where he drives us in the future.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes picks three players who have upped their levels during his second stint at the club.