West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek could look worse following the imminent departure of long-time midfield partner Declan Rice, according to Sam Tighe.
What position does Tomas Soucek play?
Since his arrival at the London Stadium from Slavia Prague in January 2020, Soucek has made 155 appearances in all competitions, scoring 22 goals and assisting eight.
According to Transfermarkt, the Czech Republic international has played the majority of his games as a defensive midfielder. Across these games, Soucek played mostly alongside club captain Rice, with the pair forming a very strong partnership across 137 matches that has anchored the Irons midfield for the past three seasons.
That partnership is set to be broken up now, though, with the Englishman on the brink of sealing a record-breaking £105m move to Arsenal. It is a move that has been brewing for a while and a move that, in the eyes of Tighe, could have major repercussions for Soucek.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Transfer Talk podcast, journalist Tighe revealed that he believes the 28-year-old may look worse following the departure of Rice due to the loss of the support he provided on the pitch.
He said: "David Moyes is going to have a lot of money to spend here, but this is not going to be an easy task, because I think he needs to buy a new midfield.
"Declan Rice is irreplaceable, but also I think he makes the others around him better, and I think there are players in this team who are going to look worse because Rice isn’t there to support them and prop them up – and I think Tomas Soucek is a prime example of that."
How will Tomas Soucek look worse without Declan Rice?
The 24-year-old was the perfect partner for Soucek because their games complemented each other incredibly well.
According to WhoScored, the Czech player's strengths include aerial duels, blocking the ball and interception skills, whilst his main weakness is his passing. Rice, on the other hand, has passing as one of his key strengths, whilst aerial duels and interceptions fail to make his list of strengths.
This perhaps showcases why the partnership was so fruitful; whilst the England international would control the tempo, drive the ball forward and run the game with the ball for West Ham, Soucek thrives off of winning duels and tackles as well as popping up in the box to score.
The departure of the Hammers captain leaves a major hole in the side that needs to be plugged, and whilst the names that have been reportedly linked to the club are great players in their own right in Joao Palhinha, Edson Alvarez, and Denis Zakaria, none of them arguably shape up to complement the 28-year-old as well as Rice did.
When it comes to Palhinha, the Portuguese midfielder has tackling as a "very strong" strength according to WhoScored, however, skills such as passing and dribbling are not listed as a strength of his game, suggesting that both he and Soucek could end up playing the same role which could be very detrimental to the Hammers.
In the case of Zakaria, WhoScored lists passing as one of his weaknesses, as well as aerial duels and tackling. So whilst he would enable the Czech man to focus on his strengths as a player, he wouldn't exactly help out in terms of covering his weaknesses.
Alvarez seems to be the best option for the Hammers, with both passing and tackling listed as "very strong" strengths, whilst he lacks any major weaknesses, according to WhoScored. Whilst the Mexican's skillset could lead to a strong partnership in the future, there may be some teething problems initially if the two players are focused on the same parts of the game.
If West Ham want to avoid many settling-in issues, Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse could be a brilliant pick-up, with his strengths according to WhoScored laying in the creative and passing parts of the game, whilst tackling and defensive contributions are mentioned as notable weaknesses. This should allow Soucek to focus on his strengths with the 28-year-old England international alongside him to pick up the creative side of the game.
