West Ham United’s Tomáš Souček has given an interview to Dnes Prague to review his time at the Premier League side.
The midfielder initially joined the Hammers on loan from Slavia Prague in January 2020 and his stay was made permanent later that year.
West Ham were successful in avoiding relegation during the 2019/20 season and Souček scored three goals from 13 Premier League appearances.
The Czech Republic international claims the English club wouldn’t have made his loan stay permanent if they were relegated from the top division in 2020.
“If West Ham were relegated, the loan would not turn into a transfer. There were more options,” he said.
“Maybe we could have saved ourselves, I wouldn’t have played anything, and West Ham would have had to buy me, which the fans probably wouldn’t like. Or I could really have returned to the Czech Republic after relegation as a bankrupt.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ve thought about it. But at the same time, I had a great desire to prove that I could do it.”
Souček’s adaptation at West Ham was partly impacted by the global pandemic in 2020. Dnes Prague asked him whether Covid slowed him down at the Premier League club.
Responding to that, Souček explained. “On the contrary. We didn’t train together for a month and a half, the first week we couldn’t even get out of the apartment, but I hid in my room at home, jumped and practiced.
“Then my wife and I went for a run, sometimes even for a walk. I wanted to be ready when everything started again. I had great motivation.”
The midfielder has been a regular at West Ham and made 232 appearances, managing 37 goals and 12 assists in the process.
Souček won West Ham’s Player of the Year award in his first full season and was also an integral part of their UEFA Conference League winning squad during the 2022/23 season.
He has expressed his admiration for the London club and is well aware their fans love him.
“The fact that my family has grown here is, of course, the main thing. But I’m also pleased that I’m so strongly connected to West Ham now and that they like me here,” he added.
“I wouldn’t have thought that we could do so much in five years.”
The newspaper pressed him on the last part of his response.
“I hoped that I wouldn’t fail and play something here. Nothing more. I wanted to try the Premier League, not to sit on the bench all spring,” Souček
“There were few Czechs in England at that time, only Matěj Vydra played in the matches, which already told me that it would not be easy to break through.”
