A West Ham legend has urged Julen Lopetegui to drop a player who had a “horrible” time during the international breaks.

David Moyes completely changed how West Ham United are viewed. The club have gone from being a mid table team at best who were due a relegation to European Champions in a remarkably short amount of time. While some of his most important players like Michail Antonio and Declan Rice were at the club long before he joined, it’s the players that he signed that really made a difference.

It was quite poetic that it was his first signing Jarrod Bowen who scored the winner in the Conference League final, and he’s well on his way to becoming a club legend. However, it’s important not to underestimate how vital some of the other players were for Moyes, particularly Tomas Soucek.

Despite a dip in form towards the end of his tenure, the Scotsman relied heavily on the midfielder and he was instrumental to the way he wanted his side to play.

Unfortunately, his skill set doesn’t lend itself particularly well to Julen Lopetegui’s philosophy and club legend Frank McAvennie has urged the Spaniard to drop Soucek. “There are a couple of midfield players who haven’t been performing. I’m not too sure which ones could come in [vs Fulham],” he told West Ham Zone.

“I was just surprised to still see Soucek starting ahead of these other guys. There’s no doubt over his abilities. He scores goals, but he just hasn’t been doing it for West Ham.”

“The last couple of games have seen an improvement, trying to get the old Soucek back, but he was horrible during the international break.”

In fairness, it’s a bit harsh to judge him based on the last couple of international games as Czechia hasn’t been great on the whole, but McAvennie certainly does have a point. Our Irons have so many brilliant midfielders that, on paper, should really be starting ahead of Soucek. With that being said, Lopetegui seems to have taken somewhat of liking to Soucek, so it will be interesting to see whether he sticks with him once all the new signings are up to speed.

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Julen Lopetegui issues Carlos Soler warning as West Ham boss ponders Jarrod Bowen position change

Julen Lopetegui has warned new West Ham signing Carlos Soler to expect a rough ride as he adapts to the physical challenge of the Premier League.
Former Valencia midfielder Soler, a deadline-day loan signing from Paris St Germain, could make his Hammers debut at Fulham on Saturday.

However, Lopetegui has told the 27-year-old playmaker, capped 14 times by Spain, that referees in England will turn a blind eye to more fouls than he is used to on the continent.
“There is a big difference,” said the Hammers boss. “For me, the rhythm is the biggest difference. The physical demand and the style too. I always say the same.

The biggest difference about the rhythm is the referees. The referees in England, maybe it’s no foul, but in Spain it’s a yellow card. This changes the game, this changes the rhythm and we have to adapt.
“I like it, I like it a lot. But it’s true that we have to adapt and for the players it’s sometimes not easy to adapt to this pace or this rhythm, this demand