West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek has only played twice for the Hammers in pre-season this summer after representing his country in last month’s UEFA Nations League ties.
After captaining Czech Republic in their fixtures against Switzerland, Portugal and a double header with Spain, with Soucek playing every minute of all four ties, the midfielder did not make his first Hammers appearance of the summer until coming off the bench against Rangers at Ibrox last Wednesday.
Replacing Manuel Lanzini for the final 35 minutes of the tie, Soucek latched onto a goalmouth scramble and managed to steer the ball past Rangers’ Allan McGregor in David Moyes’ side’s 3-1 defeat in Glasgow.
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Soucek got his first start of the summer on Saturday during a 1-1 draw with Championship side Luton Town at Kenilworth Road and continued his form with a second goal in as many friendly appearances, heading in at the end of Aaron Cresswell’s cross.
For the midfielder, he has played just 118 pre-season minutes but has scored twice, averaging a goal every 59 minutes and is currently the Hammers’ friendly top scorer going into the final friendly of the summer against French side Lens on Saturday.
Last season, Soucek scored six goals in all competitions in 51 appearances, with five of those coming from his 35 outings in England’s top-flight. While he was West Ham’s joint-fifth top scorer in both the league and in all competitions, his goal tally was significantly lower than it was in the previous campaign.
During the 2020/21 season, Soucek scored 10 goals in 38 league appearances, averaging at a goal every 342 minutes. In his debut season at the final months of the 2019/20 term, his average minutes per goal was only fractionally higher at 347 minutes. That rate almost doubled last season as the Czech midfielder took 612 minutes on average between each league goal, with Soucek’s extra goals from the previous campaign undoubtedly being missed.
West Ham played 56 times in all competitions last term, with Soucek playing almost all of them. If they want success in Europe again this season, it is likely that a similar number will be played by the Hammers.
If Soucek keeps scoring at a rate similar to his pre-season form, he could well recreate his double figure haul from his first full season in east London.
Moyes’ goals total is also likely to be boosted by the acquisition of Gianluca Scamacca. The Italian international striker is reportedly closing in on a £30.5million move to the London Stadium from Serie A side Sassuolo after netting 16 times in the Italian top-flight last term.
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