‘Hard to think of a better midfield duo in the league’ – Thomas pours praise on West Ham enforcers
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have become indispensable to West Ham this season, and they should now be considered among the Premier League elite, according to The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas.
With West Ham currently sitting comfortably in mid-table (10th) following Friday’s late win over Everton, inspired by the goalscoring exploits of Soucek, attention has turned to the men helping to drive the side to only two defeats in their last ten outings.
In an article for The Athletic detailing Soucek’s tactical importance to the side, Thomas touched upon the midfield pairing that he believes is shining, saying, “Barring the obvious [Soucek] comparisons to [Marouane] Fellaini, it is hard to think of a better midfield duo in the league than Soucek and Rice.
“They both complement each other, with Rice helping his team-mate find a balance to his forward runs and defensive duties.”
The form of both midfielder’s has caused captain Mark Noble to be left on the sidelines for much of the season, with Rice often selected to deputise as leader in his absence.
Dominating the Premier League in their own unique way
The combined talents of Rice and Soucek are certainly laying the foundations for a successful season for the Hammers.
Rice is the more defensive of the two, as evidenced in his 2.1 interceptions per game which rank him eighth in the Premier League, per WhoScored.
He is also West Ham’s most efficient passer of the ball, with a 87.6% pass completion.
Soucek, meanwhile, has weighed in with five goals this season, with the winner in the 1-0 victory at Goodison Park on Friday night making him the Hammers top scorer in the Premier League this season.
With 5.8 aerial duels won per game, Soucek is second in the Premier League, behind Sheffield United’s Oliver McBurnie (6.9).
The Czech Republic midfielder has four WhoScored man of the match awards this season, a figure bettered only by Tottenham’s Harry Kane (eight) and Burnley’s Nick Pope (five).
Between the pair of them, Soucek and Rice seemed to have covered every base.
The former wins everything in the air and bags the goals, while the latter deals with matters on the floor, cutting out opposition attacks and distributing the ball for West Ham attacks.
While it may seem a bold statement by Thomas to laud the duo as an elite Premier League pairing, the underlying statistics, combined with the noticeable impact they are having on West Ham’s season, it is easy to see why people are starting to begin their procession.
In other West Ham news, our view on how Said Benrahma’s talents are being mismanaged.