West Ham United transfer new: Tomas Soucek for sale too as Manchester United prepare players in bid for Declan Rice
West Ham are ready to sell Tomas Soucek this summer along with his illustrious midfield partner Declan Rice, according to The Times.
After Arsenal had two bids rejected for the Hammers captain, champions Manchester City are expected to make an offer next, with neighbours Manchester United also anticipated to enter the race.
While the focus remains heavily on the 24-year-old England star’s next destination, his Czech teammate is also facing a London Stadium exit, as Erik ten Hag’s side would be willing to include the likes of Scott McTominay in their bid.
The Times report: “United would not be prepared to pay as much as £100 million but are willing to offer players in the deal, including Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.
“West Ham could be interested in McTominay and they will also listen to offers for Tomas Soucek, Rice’s midfield partner who has one year left on his contract. Maguire would probably prefer a bigger club if he has to leave United. So far the centre back has indicated that he wants to stay.”
West Ham have been linked with various midfield targets to replace one or both of the current starters, with Juventus’ ex-Chelsea loanee Denis Zakaria emerging as an alternative to Fulham’s Joao Palhinha and Ajax’s Edson Alavarez, while Southampton’s relegated captain James Ward-Prowse is reportedly “likely” to be agreed later in the summer [Daily Mail, 12 June].
Overhaul
While Rice leaving is largely seen as a necessary evil for West Ham, with the England star pining for Champions League football after six seasons as a central figure at the London Stadium, Soucek’s exit is arguably overdue.
His form has dipped significantly over the past two seasons, having been a major source of goals previously with 10 in the Premier League in the 2020/21 season.
David Moyes reportedly wanted to replace him ahead of the most recent campaign but was forced to rely on him in what was largely a mess of a season [Guardian, 3 January] until the late Europa Conference League win, as the signing of Flynn Downes from Swansea last summer resulted in infrequent use at best.
So a serious overhaul is on the cards for the West Ham midfield, and if all three of the Champions League qualifiers end up in the race to sign Rice it should logically help the club boost their transfer budget to sign multiple targets.
Replacing Rice will be a lot harder than upgrading on Soucek but even the latter is easier said than done, after Moyes failed to do so last summer.
Whether there will be an adequate market for the former Slavia Prague man is yet to become clear, as there will clearly be nothing like the interest there is in the captain, but a modest fee could be enough to move him on.
Should both incumbents leave the Hammers are likely going to need at least three incoming midfielders, so they will need to spend their windfall wisely to help avoid another flop of a Premier League season.