Joe Ellis

Tue 19 July 2022 7:00, UK

Aston Villa may have made a quick start to the 2022 summer transfer window but things have rapidly ground to a halt after the early flurry of arrivals.

Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos were brought to Villa Park for the first time while Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen both had loan moves made permanent but only Ludwig Augustinsson has arrived since then.

One area Steven Gerrard may be looking at is central midfield but Birmingham Live reporter Ashley Preece has said that West Ham United ace Tomas Soucek is not on their radar at the moment.

This is such a baffling stance to take when you look at the success the Hammers have had with the Czech international in the side over the past couple of seasons.

Soucek was especially threatening in the Europa League as West Ham reached the semi-finals before coming unstuck against eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt.

It was the round of 16 tie against Sevilla where he really excelled though and he proved that the magnitude of the game would not phase him from striding forward into the box at every given opportunity.

Later in that first half, he once again found himself in the area and his enormous height and jumping reach means he is very tough to beat in the air.

He doesn’t just get his head on the cross though but is actually able to direct and cushion it into the opposite corner giving the Sevilla goalkeeper no chance of saving it.

While a goal-scoring midfielder is highly desirable to Aston Villa, Soucek is so much more than just that as he once again proved against Sevilla.

His ability to read the game and make momentum-shifting tackles and interceptions (like the one above) is such a big part of West Ham’s success that it often goes under the radar but we have to change our minds on the Czech and see if we can prize him away from the capital.

In other Aston Villa news, European giants are beginning to gather in the race to sign this teenage Villain after a breakthrough summer tournament on the international stage.