If the reports are true and West Ham United really are tracking former Chelsea starlet Cesare Casadei, then the Friday night comments of Torino coach Roberto D’Aversa will only exacerbate those Tomas Soucek comparisons.
The similarities between Casadei and Soucek are obvious. Both stand at 6ft 4ins, and both love nothing more than breaking into the penalty area from deep to convert chances. More often than not, with their head.
Soucek is now a Premier League record-holder; the most prolific Czech player in the competition’s history.
Casadei has the fourth-most goals in Serie A since the beginning of 2026, four from just five starts.
How much would West Ham MISS Tomas Soucek?
And who is your dream replacement?
Sign up for free here to tell us your pre-match thoughts!
West Ham United eye the new Tomas Soucek in Cesare Casadei
D’Aversa, speaking after Torino obliterated Parma 4-1 on Friday night, feels that the £30 million-rated Casadei is a midfielder capable of breaking into double figures if he adds greater consistency to his undoubted potential.
“He has everything it takes to become great,” D’Aversa said on a night when former West Ham target Zion Suzuki endured a ‘nightmare’ in the Parma net.
“He immediately joined a top club like Chelsea, and this experience influenced his career. In football, nothing is given for free. He must understand that he’s an important player, potentially capable of scoring ten goals a season.
“But he must find consistency on the pitch and in life.”
Soucek and Kevin Nolan are exceptions to the rule
Statistically speaking, Tomas Soucek is as reliable as ever in front of goal. Hitting the target once every 355 Premier League minutes on average, 2025/26 is up there with his best, even if West Ham’s big, free-scoring giant is unlikely to break into double figures for the third time since arriving from Slavia Prague.
Soucek finished both the 2020/21 and the 2023/24 campaign with ten goals across all competitions.
Since the turn of the century, Tomas Soucek is also one of only two midfielders to score more than nine times in a single campaign. Kevin Nolan did it twice, albeit once in the Championship.
Mark Noble never achieved the feat, despite taking penalties.
It was Tuttosport and Sports Boom who reported, earlier this week, that West Ham had sent representatives to watch Casadei in action.
Part of Leicester City’s Championship-winning campaign under Enzo Maresca during a loan spell in 2023/24, Casadei will hope to emulate Kevin de Bruyne and Mo Salah in the coming years. Another talented youngster cut loose by Chelsea, only to become a bonafide world-beater elsewhere.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
