It has been a busy 48 hours for the Czech contingent at West Ham United, from Tomas Soucek speaking out about his future ahead of the World Cup opener to Daniel Kretinsky becoming the biggest shareholder at the London Stadium.
After David Sullivan resigned as the club’s chairman last week, Kretinsky has increased his share to 43 per cent. Thus, eclipsing the 38 per cent stake owned by Sullivan.
What sort of impact this has on West Ham United’s summer plans – plenty of incomings and outgoings are expected – remains to be seen.
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But considering that Daniel Kretinsky has a history of intervening when it comes to securing Tomas Soucek’s future, it would not come as a surprise to see the so-called ‘Czech Sphinx’ do so again.
Daniel Kretinsky will want to keep Tomas Soucek at West Ham United
According to TEAMtalk, Kretinsky was the driving force behind Soucek’s contract renewal in 2023. A four-year deal which, as things stand, has only 12 months left to run.
In an interview with The Times shortly after he became a minority shareholder, Kretinsky used Soucek as an example of West Ham’s long-standing ‘affinity’ with Czech talent.
See also Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Repka and Radoslav Kovac.
And, in a statement posted on the official West Ham website on Saturday, Kretinsky and joint-chair Vanessa Gold spoke openly about the desire to ‘retain as many of our key players as possible’ in order to ‘secure an immediate return to the Premier League’.
While keeping hold of Mateus Fernandes is obviously no more than a pipe dream at this stage, Soucek sits alongside Jarrod Bowen and Dinos Mavropanos; a solid core of Hammers players who could realistically stay or go.
Soucek is torn over his future at the London Stadium
Speaking to the Czech branch of Forbes before their 2-1 defeat by South Korea in Guadalajara, Soucek admitted he is planning talks with the West Ham board.
A board over which Kretinsky is now set to wield much greater influence.
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“In football, you never know what will happen every six months,” Soucek said. “I love West Ham, but I need to calmly discuss with the manager [Nuno Espirito Santo] and the board what their views are on the way forward and what the options are.
“I played in the best league in the world or European cups for almost seven years, playing maybe 90 per cent of what I could. So, I don’t want to say that I’ll just play in the second league now and I don’t mind.
“However, the life of a footballer is not just about ambitions on the pitch.”
Soucek admits a fresh start in Italy would appeal to him, while a return to Slavia Prague is also not out of the question.
“I have a family, a wife, three children, and any potential football transfer means a major disruption to family life. So it is necessary to consider all possible options.
“On the one hand, I have achieved everything [I can]. On the other hand, I am a realist and know that I will probably not go any higher. If I were to leave West Ham, I would probably not go to the top three teams in England, but rather to a team of similar quality.
“And if not, staying at the club and trying to get it back to the Premier League can also be a special and in many ways attractive challenge. As well as trying out another of the top five leagues in Europe, both in terms of sport and life, because we know nothing other than the English league and the eternally rainy London.”
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