Tomáš Souček (; born 27 February 1995) is a Czech professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and captains the Czech Republic national team.

Club career

Slavia Prague

Souček joined

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

's youth team at 10 years old, after joining from hometown club Slovan Havlíčkův Brod. Slovan Havlíčkův Brod subsequently netted £1.5 million following Souček's transfer to

in 2020, covering their running costs for the next ten years. He had trials with two-second-tier clubs, Frýdek-Místek and

Vlašim Vlašim (; ) is a town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Vlašim is known for the Vlašim Castle and its English landscape garden, English park. Administrative division Vla� ...

, but they did not want to sign him. Viktoria Žižkov’s manager, Jindřich Trpišovský, watched Souček play and was not convinced of his ability but was persuaded to take him on a loan costing nothing to the club. Souček made his league debut on 8 March 2015 in Viktoria Žižkov's 1–2

Czech National Football League The Czech National Football League (, ''FNL''), known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The ...

home loss against FC Fastav Zlín. After returning to Slavia, he scored his first league goal on 16 August 2015 in Slavia Prague's 4–0 home win against FC Vysočina Jihlava. Souček broke into the Slavia Prague first team in 2015 and played 29 out of 30 league matches in the 2015–16

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

for them. However, in the 2016–17 season, his position in the first team was lost due to the arrival of Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui and Souček played only 93 minutes in three months between September and December 2016. He went on loan to Slovan Liberec during the winter transfer window, reuniting with former manager Trpišovský, who later managed Souček at Slavia Prague, following his appointment in December 2017. On 9 May 2018, he played as Slavia Prague won the

2017–18 Czech Cup The 2017–18 Czech Cup, known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 25th season of the annual knockout association football, football tournament of the Czech Republic. It began with the preliminary round in July 2017 and is due to end w ...

final against Jablonec. In the 2018–19 season, he won the domestic double with Slavia Prague and was awarded the Czech First League Player of the Year award. On 17 June 2019, Souček extended his contract with Slavia Prague until 2024.

West Ham United

On 29 January 2020, Souček joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side West Ham United on an initial loan deal until the end of the 2019–20 season, with an option to make the transfer permanent in the summer. On 1 July, he scored his first goal for West Ham in a 3–2 win against Chelsea, having had a goal disallowed earlier in the same half by VAR. In West Ham's following league match, he scored again to give his team a 2–1 lead against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, in an eventual 2–2 away draw. West Ham announced the permanent signing of Souček on 24 July 2020 on a four-year contract for a fee of around €21 million (£19 million). In August 2020, he was awarded the Czech Golden Ball. On 1 January 2021, Souček scored the first

goal of 2021 as West Ham beat Everton 1–0 at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

. During added time in a game against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 6 February, Souček was controversially sent off upon review after VAR appeared to show him strike Aleksandar Mitrović in the face; referee Mike Dean's decision was criticised by many of Souček's teammates, manager David Moyes and a number of pundits who protested Souček's innocence. West Ham launched an appeal to have the decision overturned in the aftermath. On 8 February, the red card was rescinded. He finished the 2020–21 season as West Ham's joint-top scorer, along with

Michail Antonio Michail Gregory Antonio (born 28 March 1990) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United and the Jamaica national football team, Jamai ...

, both having scored ten goals. Souček's exploits during the 2020–21 season won him the Hammer of the Year award. On 7 June 2023, Souček played in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final, against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

in Prague. West Ham won their first trophy in 43 years with a 2–1 victory. On 1 January 2024, he signed a new contract with the club until 2027.

International career

Souček appeared in all three matches of the Czech Republic under-21 team in the 2017 UEFA Under-21 Championship. After representing the Czech Republic in several youth categories, Souček debuted for the senior team on 15 November 2016 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He made his competitive debut on 10 June 2017, in Czech Republic's 1–1 away draw against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in a 2018 World Cup qualifier. On 24 March 2021, Souček scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 6–2 World Cup qualifying win against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. He was a member of the Czech Republic squad for Euro 2020 where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by

. Following the tournament, Souček was confirmed as the new captain of the Czech Republic, after Vladimír Darida's retirement from international football. In May 2024, Souček was named as a member of the Czech Republic squad for Euro 2024.

Style of play

Souček has built a reputation as an energetic box-to-box midfielder with both defensive and attacking qualities. He is also known for his strong physical presence thanks to his frame. Souček was likened to Marouane Fellaini by

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

due to his heading ability from set-pieces.

Awards

On 18 March 2025 Souček was named Czech Footballer of the Year for the fourth time, equalling Pavel Nedvěd's record and trailing only Petr Čech's nine awards. In 2024, Souček scored six goals for West Ham, and played 11 matches for the national team, scoring twice. He was instrumental in leading the Czechs to the elite division of the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

. Reflecting on his achievements, Souček expressed gratitude for being considered a role model and emphasised his ambition to continue scoring and inspiring young players.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Souček goal.''

Honours

Slavia Prague *

: 2016–17, 2018–19 *

Czech Cup The Czech Cup (), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association. The Czech Cup was first held in 1961. The winner ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19 * Czechoslovak Supercup: 2019 West Ham United *

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

: 2022–23 Czech Republic *

China Cup The China Cup International Football Championship () is an annual association football tournament organized in China by Wanda Sports Holdings. The Championship was inaugurated in 2017 as a single-elimination tournament A single-elimination kn ...

bronze: 2018 Individual *

Best Midfielder of the Season: 2018–19 * Czech Footballer of the Year: 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024 * Golden Ball (Czech Republic): 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 *

Player of the Year: 2020–21 * Silver Medal of Jan Masaryk: 2021

References

External links

Tomáš Souček
at West Ham United F.C.
archive
* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soucek, Tomas 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Havlíčkův Brod Footballers from the Vysočina Region Czech men's footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders SK Slavia Prague players FK Viktoria Žižkov players FC Slovan Liberec players West Ham United F.C. players Czech First League players Czech National Football League players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2020 players UEFA Euro 2024 players Czech expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Czech expatriate sportspeople in England UEFA Conference League–winning players 21st-century Czech sportsmen