West Ham United have landed that evasive midfield player. The 24-year-old has captured the eye for Slavia Prague this year, netting 12 goals in only 26 appearances. Of these strikes, two came at the Champions League scored against Borussia Dortmund and Internazionale. But the 6ft 4ins behemoth is a lot more than a goalscorer, he is an old school box-to-box midfielder.
Diligent in his defensive responsibilities, Souček reads the game well and this is a characteristic he puts to good use in the final third, too. Though not a household name, this is an excellent coup for West Ham.
So what will Souček bring into the West Ham midfield?
The 24-year-old averages over 11 chunk recoveries each 90 and competes for a remarkable 8.5 duels from the Czech league. Souček a ball magnet and he gives his side a great deal of defensive protection.
In a sense, he is Moyes’ new Marouane Fellaini. But with a little more about him. He is too smart to be a target person for a group.
If Souček could be compared to anyone in the Premier League, it would be the first version of Dele Alli. He makes smart runs into the area from profound and that’s what makes him dangerous as he is. He is reliable in the punishment spot, but his open-play threat is unquestionably one reason that the Hammers have signed him.
West Ham has managed only 27 league goals this year and #45million club-record signing Sébastien Haller is fighting. Often isolated in the last third, he’s unable to link with team-mates and the resistance has the ability to easily nullify him. To find the club-record registering shooting, he needs assistance. He has the capacity to be an ideal foil to the Frenchman.
But he does not just support the attackers like some midfielders would. He places the distance and he peels off to place himself between the centre-back and full-back. The ball stems from the Slavia right and eventually ends up at the toes of Souček on the edge of this six-yard area. He calmly enters the ball beyond Roman Bürki and the people have a shock goal in the Westfalenstadion. One they would not have without Souček’s desire to be a goal threat.
When you see his goals this year, you can understand why he is averaging 0.45 a 90 in the Czech league. He is smart in the playground and his motion is eerily like that of a forward.
Souček is exceptional which is why he is a real game-changer for the Hammers. If he hits the ground running, West Ham could easily quadruple the fee they paid to get him in a couple of years.
