West Ham: Edson Alvarez now has ‘fight on his hands’ at the London Stadium
West Ham United manager David Moyes could be looking for more out of his current players.
West Ham United have plenty of competition for places in their squad after reinvesting the money received for Declan Rice, and journalist Paul Brown has shared how David Moyes is feeling internally.
The Hammers were smart with their recruitment after losing their talisman in the summer transfer window.
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Rice was sold to Arsenal in the summer for a fee of £105m. Losing the academy graduate was disappointing for the capital club, but receiving such a hefty fee allowed Moyes and his recruitment team to rebuild their squad in multiple areas of the pitch. As much as losing Rice was a major concern for the Hammers, there’s an argument that their team as a whole is better off for it, having brought in the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Mohammed Kudus, and Edson Alvarez.
Journalist Brown previously told reporters that West Ham missed a trick by not signing Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri, which is one area of the pitch the capital club failed to reinforce during the summer. The focus appeared to be ensuring the midfield situation was solved after Rice departed, which makes sense considering the impact he had made at the London Stadium.
Various new outlets claimed earlier in the year that West Ham were willing to offload Tomas Soucek, with his contract set to expire next year. However, Moyes has shown plenty of faith in him, despite bringing in new signings in his position.
Despite his future being in doubt, Soucek is still playing a key role for the Hammers this campaign, and is arguably enjoying a better season than new signing Alvarez. As a result, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see West Ham extend his contract in the near future.
He’s got a fight on his hands for a place in David Moyes’ side – Paul Brown
There’s plenty of competition for places in West Ham’s midfield and it’s a nice problem to have for Moyes at the moment. Although they’ve lost their last two games against tough competition in Manchester City and Liverpool, the Hammers have been impressive this term for the most part.
Brown has suggested that former Ajax midfielder Alvarez, who cost £35m in the summer, now has a fight on his hands to secure a place in the starting XI. The journalist adds that Moyes has no doubts about starting Soucek, despite his future being up in the air. Speaking about the matter he said…
“Yeah, I think there’s a lot of competition in that midfield now for places, so nobody is really guaranteed a spot. James Ward-Prowse has been brilliant so far, and looks like one of the first names on the team sheet. But playing next to him is a position that is really up for grabs. I think Alvarez has got a fight on his hands. Obviously, Soucek’s future, there are still some doubts about that. But while he’s performing, I don’t think the manager would have any doubts about starting him. So it’s really going to come down to which one of them is doing it in training, and which one the manager prefers on a weekly basis. He isn’t someone who likes to rotate a lot, so if you get the shirt, you’re probably going to get a run there and it looks like Soucek might get a run now. We’ll see.”
Will West Ham extend Soucek’s deal?
When Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus are fully settled in the Premier League, Soucek may find himself sitting on the bench at West Ham, hence why a new deal might not have been signed just yet. As per Spotrac, Soucek isn’t in the top 10 highest earners at the club, so giving him an additional year as an option in the middle of the park would be a smart move.
Allowing Soucek to depart without receiving a fee for him wouldn’t make a lot of sense. The Czech Republic international has provided this season that he still has something to give at the London Stadium.
