West Ham United manager David Moyes expects new signing Tomáš Souček to be available for selection for Saturday afternoon's game against Brighton & Hove Albion, but will assess the extent of the midfielder’s involvement ahead of the game.
The 24-year-old midfielder joined the Irons this week from Slavia Prague an initial loan deal until the end of the 2019/20 season, with an option to make the transfer permanent in the summer.
Due to Slavia Prague’s winter break, the Czech Republic international has not featured in a competitive first-team game since mid-December, but Moyes was pleased with his early showings in training this week and hopes to feature him in some capacity.
“He’s only had a few days’ training, but he’s been at a training camp and he’s had a couple of bits of football since their winter break,” the manager said of Souček.
“I think I’m seeing exactly what he is: I think he’s a good midfield player, he’s comfortable with the ball, he’s got an ability to get forward and he can cover a lot of ground for us, we hope, during the course of the season, and then every game at the moment.
“We’re just trying to weigh up where he is. Obviously I’m going to have him involved tomorrow, but I think it could be a bit quick for him. We’ll assess that.”
The Irons will be looking to secure their first win in seven games in all competitions when they welcome Graham Potter’s Brighton side to London Stadium tomorrow.
Their last Premier League game against Liverpool saw Moyes welcome back goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from a set-back sustained against Sheffield United in early January.
Moyes also offered an update on winger Felipe Anderson, whose last appearance in Claret and Blue came in the same fixture, in which he sustained a back injury following a challenge by midfielder Muhamed Bešić late on.
“We still have a few injuries but we’re beginning to get one or two back,” Moyes smiled. “We’re lucky we got Łukasz Fabiański back for the game in midweek – we were glad to get him back.
“The likes of Felipe Anderson are on the grass at the moment, but not quite ready at this moment in time.”
With Friday also marking the final day of the January transfer window, Moyes confirmed that West Ham United are interested in signing Hull City forward Jarrod Bowen.
“We’re interested in him,” he said. “It could get concluded but I’d be jumping the gun if I said it was done at this moment in time.”
