Exclusive: Hammers braced for Soucek bid

C&H Exclusive by Dave Langton

West Ham are braced for at least one bid for Tomas Soucek in the next month.

Sources close to the club have confirmed to ClaretandHugh that there is an expectation of an offer arriving for the Czech Republic international before the end of July.

There is a question mark hanging over the midfielder’s future as there have been no talks over a new contract since the turn of the year, and we understand that there are none scheduled.

One source has confirmed to us that there is a feeling that offers will arrive before the end of July, with a number of clubs interested, including an unnamed Champions League side.

Soucek’s representatives, as we have reported previously, have been talking to clubs to gauge interest in a move after boss David Moyes refused to be drawn into talks over extending his stay. As not to compromise their position, the names of said clubs remain closely guarded.

There remains a possibility that any offer tabled will not meet West Ham’s demands but we understand that the fee, if he does leave, is likely to be in the region of £25m to £30m.

That would represent a small profit on what the Irons paid for him but it remains well below what his valuation would have been last summer.