WHZ view: Thomas Soucek outperforming Declan Rice at West Ham under Moyes guidance
Thomas Soucek has been a revelation at West Ham since he arrived almost a year ago.
Little was known about the Czech Republic international, but he and compatriot Vladimir Coufal have slotted in seamlessly at the club.
It is Soucek’s contribution that is really catching the eye however, and he has even begun to overshadow Declan Rice in the middle of the park.
He is now one of the first names on the teamsheet and invaluable to David Moyes.
And though it may be his goals in recent weeks that have grabbed headlines, the 25-year-old offers so much more than that.
Soucek’s stats from the current campaign portray just how effective he can be, and that may surprise some.
Rice is highly regarded and coveted by Chelsea, and rightly so, yet even the England international falls behind his teammate in important areas.
One key aspect of Rice’s game is his ability to break up play, but he mas managed only 32 tackles compared to Soucek’s 31.
Interestingly, the only Irons player who has a higher average tackles per game is Coufal, with 3.1 according to WhoScored.
In other departments Soucek has forged a reputation for himself, and leaves his midfield partner with catching up to do.
His ability in the air means he could be compared to former Everton and Manchester United player Marouane Fellaini, another midfielder Moyes got the best out of.
Take the image below, for example, where the former Red Star Belgrade player showed tremendous intelligence and awareness to head in West Ham’s second equaliser against Brighton.
To draw a similarity to Fellaini, here is the Belgian scoring a goal against Stoke in 2014/15.
The determination of both players to get on the end of the loose ball cannot be undervalued, but neither can the role Moyes plays.
He has clearly identified Soucek’s aerial ability as a method to exploit the opposition, and it is not due to luck that the Czech hovers a few metres away from the Seagulls defence.
It allows him to build up momentum to win the header, generating power that makes his five-goal return unsurprising.
If he maintains his form and improves his pass accuracy of 74% then the likes of Bayern Munich may return with interest.
For now, Moyes and West Ham must make the most of what he brings to the team.
In other West Ham news, Frank McAvennie has reacted to the news that a Manuel Pellegrini signing could be heading for the exit door.