A shock transfer triangle has emerged between West Ham, Leeds United and Everton ahead of the summer window.
Leeds are losing former West Ham CEO Angus Kinnear to Everton this summer.
But it seems Leeds chiefs want to hijack a move being planned before he takes up office at Everton’s shiny new Bramley-Moore Dock home.
West Ham and Leeds are no strangers to doing business.
Just last summer £26m changed hands between the Hammers and Leeds United for Crysencio Summerville.
It was one of nine summer deals done by West Ham in the wake of David Moyes’ departure before he eventually returned to the Premier League with former club Everton.
Until his serious injury in January, former Leeds star Summerville had looked among the best of West Ham’s summer arrivals.
West Ham are said to be scouring the Championship again for similar bargains this summer.
But the Hammers have let it be known PSR will dictate a host of player sales this summer to raise funds for signings.
Speculation was already rife that Moyes wants to bring West Ham star Tomas Soucek to Everton this summer.
Moyes says the big Czech is one of his favourite ever signings.
The Toffees boss even dedicated his OBE in the King’s New Year’s Honours to Soucek and a number of other senior players he had at West Ham.
Now Leeds want to speak to West Ham about a shock transfer deal four Soucek – and it has ruined it for Everton in a major twist.
A report from Claret and Hugh – a site with links to Hammers majority owner David Sullivan – claimed Soucek is attracting interest from an ‘unnamed Premier League club’ ahead of the summer window.
That club, it is reported, is offering West Ham’s reliable 30-year-old midfielder £120k per week to join them.
Given the recent links, West Ham fans suspect Everton are behind the ‘mystery’ plan.
Surprisingly, despite his commitment and heroics down the years, many Hammers fans said they would sell Soucek to Moyes if Everton offered between £30-35m.
Leeds want talks with West Ham over shock deal
Leeds have thrown a major spanner in the works, though.
The Elland Road club are sitting pretty at the top of the Championship with eight games to go.
However, automatic promotion is not guaranteed just yet.
Because second-placed Sheffield United are level with them on 80 points and third-place Burnley are just two behind on 78.
Leeds must be pretty confident of securing a return to the top flight, though, if their actions are anything to go by.
According to a fresh claim from Claret and Hugh, Leeds United have emerged as a surprise contender to sign Soucek.
Leeds have ruined Everton’s Soucek plan in major twist
Daniel Farke is planning ahead for the Premier League and wants his club to enquire about trying to beat Everton to the Hammers star.
With Graham Potter is looking to drive down the age of the team and bring more dynamism, pace and technical ability to midfield, Farke thinks there may be an opportunity to be had.
The report claims he sees Soucek as a guaranteed source of goals – and potentially the difference between surviving in the Premier League or dropping straight back down to the Championship.
Leeds may also feel they have an advantage over Everton due to West Ham’s financial position.
The Hammers still owe Leeds the vast bulk of the £26m for Summerville.
There was a clause in Summerville’s contract which meant a club could sign him for £25m but the entirety had to be paid up front, not the usual instalments over the course of the player’s contract.
However, West Ham paid an extra £1m as a premium to be able to pay it in instalments instead.
If Leeds were willing to offset that money against Soucek, with more on top, it might appeal to West Ham’s owners given the concerns they have raised about PSR biting with £80m Hammers losses on the horizon.
While that may give Leeds a potential advantage in theory, their interest has actually sparked a major twist.
Because the increasing speculation over Soucek’s future with the links to Elland Road and a Moyes reunion, have led to a response from the player.
It was all quiet from Soucek’s camp when Everton were being linked with the former Hammer of the Year.
Transfer tussle prompts response from Soucek camp
But Hammers News understands from an agent source close to the player that he has no desire to leave West Ham amid the interest from Leeds and the Toffees.
It was reiterated to us, as also reported in the article from Claret and Hugh, that ‘Soucek is not pushing for a move in any way’.
West Ham have also pointed out that it was just over one year ago that Soucek signed a new and improved contract with the club until 2027.
At the time Soucek made it clear he feels east London is now his home.
“I feel that the fans appreciate me here,” Soucek told the club’s website when he penned the new contract last January.
“This was a big part of the reason that I wanted to extend my contract with West Ham, because I feel that this is my home now, and I want to achieve even more in the future with this great club.”
It seems the prospect of a bidding war between Leeds and Everton has put the frighteners on Soucek that leaving may be taken out of his hands if West Ham accept an offer.
So he is keen to point out that he has no interest in leaving for Yorkshire or Merseyside.
