Don Hutchison says West Ham should 'do everything' to keep 'priceless' favourite of Nuno Espirito Santo
Nuno Espirito Santo has found a formula that works for West Ham with Don Hutchison picking out one player in particular for praise.
West Ham were a consistent presence in the top 10 of the Premier League under David Moyes which is probably why they appointed the nearest profile of manager that they could find in Nuno Espírito Santo.
Nottingham Forest’s loss is the Hammers gain with the pragmatic boss providing a more resolute style of play to secure back to back wins for the first time this season. One player who was key under Moyes has rediscovered his form and become an influential figure once again. Tomas Soucek, who rejected the chance to leave London in the summer, was indispensable only a couple of seasons ago but the Czech international’s contract is expiring.
Don Hutchison urges West Ham to make Tomas Soucek decision
According to Don Hutchison, speaking to Sports Casting, the last thing West Ham should do is consider letting the powerhouse midfielder leave: “I do think West Ham should do everything they can to keep Soucek. He's got this affinity with West Ham. I don't know if you've seen the helicopter celebration that he's sort of adopted. In his words, he said ‘I got really down and really depressed and I made up this helicopter celebration to sort of twizzle and get myself out of it and get myself out of this sort of state of mind.’
“He’s a completely different player to John Moncur, who I played with, but he reminds me a bit of John because of his attitude. You can bring him off the bench, you can start them in a game and you can play 45 minutes, or you can play him for an hour, or you could rest him, drop him and give him the last half an hour or 40. He's just happy to wear the shirt. Sometimes those guys are priceless and they're worth keeping around.”
Why Soucek should be given a new deal
Soucek is more than just a good player for how ever long he is on the pitch for. The 30-year old is a leader in the dressing room as well as on the pitch, he has also experienced winning silverware with West Ham and competing regularly for European places, he knows what standards are needed and the manager is clearly a huge fan.
Not every signing that is made has to be one that is sold for a profit. There is a core of players who Espírito Santo can build his team around and Soucek is one of them. As Hutchison says, whether this is from the start or off the bench. He is right, Soucek is priceless, trying to replace him with a younger model could cost a fortune. He might not be around forever, but he can help provide the sort of stability that the new manager needs.