Huge compliments to Soucek: He changed West Ham. He didn’t want a day off, we locked the ground in front of him. He’s an amazing man, says Moyes

Tomáš Souček is currently one of the most successful Czech players playing abroad. He is in his sixth season at West Ham and although there was some criticism a couple of weeks ago, the national team captain took it off the table with a good performance and a goal. Plus, he received a giant compliment from former coach David Moyes.

• Soucek is now in his sixth season at West Ham
• He continues to hold his ground
• Former coach Moyes gave him a huge compliment

Jindřich Trpišovský once said that Tomáš Souček is a complete atypical player who will probably never be replaced. He tried several times, but he simply couldn’t find another Soucek. Moreover, the Czech midfielder proved his uniqueness by the way he gracefully made the jump from the Czech league to the Premier League.

But it’s not that Soucek has simply fitted in, he has completely changed West Ham. He has helped turn a team playing to save into a team fighting for trophies. And that he has a lot to do with that has been confirmed several times by coach David Moyes himself.

“First of all, Tomas Soucek is an amazing person. He changed West Ham when he came. We often said that we had to close the gates to the training ground against him. He was there every day, he still wanted to run, he was still so committed, he didn’t want any days off at all,” Moyes told BBC Sport.

“He really lifted the whole club. All those seasons I had him in the team, he was a really great player for us. He scored a lot of goals, he had a great attitude, he was virtually injury-free. He was a really great guy,” added the former West Ham coach.

Although Moyes retired from the London Stadium in the summer, Soucek continues to hold his position. Although he had a bit of a hard time with Julien Lopetegui at the start, the Spanish coach continues to give him plenty of space.

And the lanky midfielder rewarded him with an equalising goal at Brentford at the weekend, his second this season. He fired home his goal in a win against Crystal Palace at the end of August.

In the studio, Moyes also got to compare his position in the Czech national team and West Ham. Based on the video interviews, he said he plays well down the national team in the number six position and it seems to be instructions from the coach. However, he preferred to use Soucek higher up the pitch as he can really threaten the opposition in the whitewash.

Source: BBC Sport, X, West Ham