{"id":1285055,"date":"2022-11-01T08:45:05","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T08:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1285055"},"modified":"2022-11-07T10:46:28","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T10:46:28","slug":"jamie-redknapp-west-ham-midfield-partnership-rice-soucek","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/jamie-redknapp-west-ham-midfield-partnership-rice-soucek\/","title":{"rendered":"“I am not convinced” \u2014 Jamie Redknapp questions West Ham\u2019s midfield partnership of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamie Redknapp doesn’t believe West Ham\u2019s midfield partnership of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek offers the right blend of attributes to dominate games.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rice-Soucek double-pivot has been one of the cornerstones of David Moyes’ second tenure at the club, with the Scot having initially thwarted threats of relegation in 2019\/20, to guiding the club to last season’s Europa League semi-final.<\/p>\n

They have forged an understanding built on athleticism, grit and tenacity, but one or two fans have started to question whether there is enough ball-playing fluidity between the pair to really dominate possession and hog the ball — a notion shared by Redknapp.<\/p>\n

During his punditry work for Sky Sports in the aftermath of West Ham’s 1-0 loss to Man Utd, the former midfielder explained: “I look at that West Ham midfield and I am not convinced by Soucek and Rice as a partnership.<\/p>\n\n

“A long-standing partnership has its positives but I am talking about certain games where you need creativity.<\/p>\n

“Now of course Soucek will offer you, he’s great in the air, set pieces for and against. He’s important. But when I’m looking at someone, I look at Declan and he wants to pop a little pass around the corner he’s not quite there, because it’s not Soucek’s game.<\/p>\n

“It isn’t Soucek’s game. You’ve got (Pablo) Fornals, (Saidi) Benrahma can play in there, (Flynn) Downes, (Lucas) Paqueta is injured, but I just feel with those two, it doesn’t feel there is any flow when you have two players who are so similar in there.”<\/p>\n\n

Neville, working alongside Redknapp at Old Trafford, chimed in with his own assessment, suggesting Moyes utilises Soucek in a similar way to how Marouane Fellaini used to operate at Everton and Man Utd — but the former right-back believes the game has moved on since then and even defensive midfielders should be highly-skilled with their feet.<\/p>\n

He said: “Rodri at City, Fabinho, Casemiro they can play. A holding player isn’t now a negative thing.<\/p>\n

“It is someone who intercepts, starts attacks, can play on the half-turn and play passes to more creative players. Soucek isn’t the best at that.”<\/p>\n

We pre-empted Redknapp’s concern back in March and decided to find Rice’s perfect midfielder partner. Taking all the best bits from Soucek’s game and elevating to another level, Sergej-Milinkovic and Mikel Merino seemed to be the ideal candidates…<\/p>\n