West Ham new boy Tomas Soucek impresses David Moyes after topping running charts vs Man City
Tomas Soucek has hit the ground running at West Ham.
The Czech midfielder, who arrived from Slavia Prague late in the January window, is impressing early on and, according to club stats, covered more ground at Manchester City on Wednesday than any Hammers player has in a single game for six years.
David Moyes broke a lifelong tradition with his new signing and did not get a look at him in the flesh before sealing the deal last month, but the Scotsman is liking what he sees so far.
It has long been levelled at West Ham that when things go wrong they simply do not work hard enough. Declan Rice battled alongside Soucek at the Etihad Stadium and was second in the running stats, but the 24-year-old topped the charts covering 13.1km.
"I mean Tomas, we believe, ran more the other night than any West Ham player has run for five or six years," said Moyes.
"Which you have to say for someone who's just arrived at the club is an incredible stat. Now it's not all about running but it's a big part of it and it certainly helps.
"I don't think [he is showing up the others], I think his numbers were just so big. I'm not going to give them to you. I had a feeling when we signed him that that was one of his strengths.
"But for him to come in and do that at the moment... at West Ham we talked about needing some legs, a bit more energy, running, covering the ground more. If I've got it right, we think it's the furthest of anybody in six years.
Soucek was deployed as the most advanced of a midfield three against Manchester City, and while there was little threat from the visitors that night, he will certainly cause problems beyond his running in due course.
Moyes said: "He's a goal threat. Against Brighton he had a couple of chances and the other night he was nearly on the end of one.
"We're talking about young players, Declan, Jarrod, and I'm saying Tomas at the moment is 24 and you've got this.
"We're in a tough period and we're trying to gather some positives from it. Hopefully one or two of the young players can have an impact."
Read more
Liverpool vs West Ham preview: Prediction, live stream, team new
Moyes: West Ham surviving relegation is not a 'success'
West Ham XI vs Liverpool: Confirmed team news and predicted lineup
