Julen Lopetegui to make instant Carlos Soler call at West Ham United after new developments
The international break may still be in full flow but West Ham United and Julen Lopetegui will already be preparing for the return of the Premier League.
The Hammers get their domestic campaign back up and running with a trip to Craven Cottage to face Marco Silva’s Fulham as they look to get back to winning ways having lost to Manchester City last time out.
Although the Irons boss has slowly bled some new faces into his starting XI as the season has worn on, for the first time this season he has PSG loanee Carlos Soler at his disposal after his deadline day transfer.
Whether or not the Spanish international will be immediately thrown into the fold against Fulham remains to be seen, but new developments over the international break may have forced the Irons boss’ hand.
How much did West Ham pay to sign Carlos Soler on transfer deadline day?
Although Soler himself hasn’t been in action during the break, fellow midfielder Tomas Soucek has been blasted for his performance in the Czech Republic’s 4-1 defeat to Georgia.
Czech outlet iSport.cz (7 September) gave the Hammers star a 3/10 rating suggesting that the midfielder failed to get involved in the game and didn’t even manage to wake up during the second half of the defeat.
Soucek has started the season well under Lopetegui at the London Stadium, scoring one goal in three Premier League appearances, but that sort of display on the international stage will be slightly worrying.
Having only won one of their opening three games in the Premier League, West Ham desperately need a win against Fulham and they cannot afford to risk dropping points because players are out of form.
Soucek does have an opportunity to get his season back up and running against Ukraine on Tuesday (10 September) night, but if he fails to perform again, he may well have given Lopetegui a decision to make.
With Guido Rodriguez, Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta all already in contention for a starting place, it could well be Soler who is handed his first Premier League start ahead of Soucek.
It would be a surprise to see the former Real Madrid boss instantly throw a new signing into the fold so soon after he arrived, but Soler will be chomping at the bit to be involved after a quiet international break.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers’ scouts have checked in one Championship player after the transfer window closed
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