West Ham have already scouted a replacement for Rice. With Souček, Palhinha and Álvarez could play in the centre of midfield

The departure of Declan Rice will hurt West Ham United a lot, according to many English experts. However, the club has no choice but to try to replace the key midfielder. The pair of João Palhinha and Edson Álvarez could come to compete with Tomáš Souček.

The absolute priority is to acquire the 27-year-old Portuguese, who is known for his aggressive style of play. We are talking about a 190 centimeters tall player, which together with his game concept suggests that he is a very strong player, but he is also excellent with his weaker left foot.

He is thus direct competition for the Czech midfielder in the service of the Hammers, who played over 40 games last season and enjoyed 4 goals.

The Lisbon native only came to England last year when he was bought from Sporting for €20 million by Fulham, with whom the player is under contract until 2027.

According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, however, this courtship will definitely not be easy for West Ham, as Palhinha is an absolutely key figure in the midfield of Fulham, who finished a fine 10th in the last league season thanks to him.

A possible alternative would be Mexican midfielder Álvarez, who has played 44 games in an Ajax jersey. The advantage of the 25-year-old Tlalnepantla de Baz native is that he can play as well in midfield as he can at stopper.

Álvarez, however, is also in the sights of Borussia Dortmund, who are looking for a replacement for the departed Jude Bellingham. Chelsea, however, failed with a £43 million bid last season, so this will not be a cheap acquisition at all.

However, according to Roman, the skilful Mexican has already been tentatively agreed with the German club, so it will depend on whether West Ham come up with a more interesting offer. But the Premier League could be more tempting for the player himself than the Bundesliga.

We’ll see in the coming days, though, as all clubs certainly have a few more options. In both cases, however, these are very quality players who should definitely fill Rice’s role.

Source: Fabrizio Romano, Transfermarkt, OneFootball