Nuno Espirito Santo will be pleased with ‘top player’ Tomas Soucek after what he did for West Ham
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek was forced to watch from the sidelines as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side drew 1-1 with Everton on Monday.
Soucek was unavailable for West Ham after picking up a straight red card for his dangerous tackle on Tottenham’s Joao Palhinha.
In his place, Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa both set the pace and impressed in a lively game against the Toffees.
The Czech Republic international has been forced to maintain his fitness with West Ham‘s under-21s, and showed his class despite a 3-1 defeat to Reading in the English Football League Trophy.
Reading boss Noel Hunt praises ‘top player’ Tomas Soucek
Fernandes covered plenty of the pitch against Everton, as the Hammers looked completely different in the middle of the park from what they did under Graham Potter.
The news following the game was dominated by Nuno’s decision not to include James Ward-Prowse in the travelling squad.
However, the Irons coped fine without key figures, with Freddie Potts making an impressive stint from the bench, completing two successful tackles.
Soucek was unavailable against the Toffees, but was involved for the under-21s in the game against Reading.
The Hammers took an early lead through Callum Marshall before they were put on the back foot when youngster Ezra Mayers was red-carded.
They went on to lose 3-1, but that didn’t stop Reading boss Noel Hunt from praising Soucek.
“He’s a top player. How he went about his business tonight just shows why he’s been a top player for a long time at this level,” the former Leeds striker said.
“But we said, ‘listen, he’s only one player.”
What was said about Callum Marshall after West Ham’s defeat
Marshall has been knocking on the door for a Premier League start for a while now after impressing in the Hammers’ youth setup.
- Marshall scored ten and assisted four in League One for Huddersfield last season
- The striker scored 19 goals for the under-21s in the 2023/24 season
Nuno has a history of developing young players in his previous spells with Wolves and Nottingham Forest and he could benefit from the Hammers’ struggles up front.
Hunt was full of praise for Marshall following the game and said, “They had Callum up front as well. He’s had league experience, so we knew the strengths they had.”
West Ham’s under-21s boss, Mark Robson, also said: “Cal just gives his best every game and every training session. He’s great for some of the younger lads to look at, because his whole demeanour rubs off on them.”
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