Tomas Soucek’s days at West Ham United are now numbered after what happened vs Brighton

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Tomas Soucek came off the bench in the second half of the game between West Ham and Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw against Brighton, courtesy of a late equaliser by Georginio Rutter in stoppage time.

Jarrod Bowen scored for West Ham to ensure that the visitors came away with something from their travels to the south coast.

Tomas Soucek falls further down the pecking order at West Ham

Soucek started the game against Manchester United and played on the right flank in the absence of Crysencio Summerville and Lucas Paqueta.

A midfielder by trade, the Czech Republic international was deployed out of position, and as expected, struggled to make an impact.

Against Brighton on Sunday, Nuno shuffled things around and, to give his team more defensive solidity, dropped both Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa.

This typically would mean a start for Soucek, but the underperforming Guido Rodriguez was named in the playing eleven alongside Mateus Fernandes.

Soucek only came on in the 82nd minute for Paqueta and it was an underwhelming performance by the 30-year-old.

Will Soucek leave at the end of the season?

Despite being 30, the midfielder will want to be playing regularly as he does have a few more years left at the top level.

Nuno’s decision on Sunday shows Soucek just where he is in the pecking order and that could be all it takes for him to consider his future.

He still has another year left on his deal after the end of the season, but if the Hammers do not see him getting first-team minutes, they could look to cash in on him in the summer.

While the January window is just around the corner, losing a player of his calibre, especially in terms of what he brings to the dressing room, would be a huge blow.

It makes sense to gradually ease him out of the first-team picture and then look for potential buyers come the summer.

There are plenty of players at the London Stadium currently who are unlikely to be at the club in the next 12 months and Soucek could be one of them.