(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Wed 18 March 2026 7:40, UK

Tomas Soucek could be playing his final season in a West Ham shirt.

The midfielder is close to entering the final year of his deal with the Hammers, and is said to be open to a new challenge.

There is a feeling in E20 that, despite playing regularly under Nuno Espirito Santo, the 31-year-old does not fit the playing style of the West Ham boss.

According to talkSPORT, Soucek could leave West Ham even if the Irons stay in the Premier League beyond this campaign.

Nuno may have his own targets heading into the summer transfer window, but it looks like the London Stadium’s favourite Czech Republic star could say his goodbyes soon.

Should West Ham keep Tomas Soucek?

Soucek has been a top performer for West Ham this season, once again popping up with crucial goals for the Hammers in times of desperation.

While it’s true that the veteran midfielder is not the flashiest player in the world, his desire to score goals and win the ball back for the Hammers may be hard to replace.

• Soucek has only started 16 league games this season
• He has 46 goals in total for the Irons

Soucek has most definitely had an increase in game time in recent matches, and it’s no surprise that the Hammers have had an upturn in results.

But Nuno’s full focus is on getting results right now and playing the former Slavia Prague star is key to the Hammers staying up.

Even if he were to take a back seat at the London Stadium next season, West Ham should be trying to keep Soucek on their books.

However, the friendly giant sounds like he wants to move somewhere he will be a nailed-on starter, which could be out of West Ham’s hands.

West Ham may already have multiple replacements for Soucek

The Irons will have confidence that they may not need to splash big money to replace Soucek this summer, with multiple young midfielders already at the club.

The likes of Freddie Potts, Songoutou Magassa, and Mohamadou Kante have all seen healthy game time this season, and look to be promising future starters.

There’s no doubt that the trio aren’t finished articles yet, but the game time they’ve had this campaign will only help them going into next season.

It could be that Nuno sees Potts, for example, as the man who can step up in the potential event that Soucek departs.

After all, the Hammers have Mateus Fernandes on their books, who could one day be an even bigger hero than Soucek ever was.