West Ham turn to LaLiga for perfect Soucek replacement as contract talks continue to stall
Nikola Vlasic, Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen celebrate West Ham goal
West Ham are reportedly keeping tabs on Celta Vigo midfielder Fran Beltran as they eye a potential replacement for the out-of-contract Tomas Soucek this summer.
The 24-year-old Celta star is said to be on the radar for the Hammers as continue to scan the market for defensive midfielders to bolster David Moyes’ first-team squad.
However, Beltran is known to have caught the eye of a number of clubs and his addition will not be a straightforward one.
The former Rayo Vallecano star is widely regarded as one of the better holding midfielders in Spanish football, perfecting the art of breaking up play and then launching fresh attacks for his side.
And Football Insider reports that West Ham are considering using some of the £105million they received for Declan Rice on landing Beltran.
Moyes did bring in two senior central midfielders in the summer, James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez. But with regular starter Soucek yet to agree a contract extension, there could be a place in the Hammers squad up for grabs as soon as January.
Soucek has made five appearances across all competitions this term, scoring once and adding an assist in a positive start to the new campaign for Moyes’ men.
The 28-year-old chalked up 50 appearances for the Hammers in all competitions last season in a campaign that saw them taste Europa Conference League success.
Ward-Prowse has so far proved to be a very smart addition, having already scored two times and assisted six so early in the campaign.
However, Ward-Prowse is not a natural holding midfielder while fellow summer signing Alvarez can play in that role but Moyes wants more competition for places.
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