Tomas Soucek has said that one Manchester City player is one of the toughest he’s ever faced in his career.
At the age of 29, the West Ham United midfielder has made 207 appearances for the Hammers across all competitions.
Then for the Czech Republic, who Soucek is currently representing in the 2024 European Championship, he has racked up 70 senior caps.
Having played with and against a wide variety of top-level players during his time at West Ham and for his national side, the midfielder certainly knows a strong player when he sees one.
Speaking of which, Soucek has now revealed some of the toughest opponents he’s faced are, with one particular name, who many City fans will know, cropping up.
Tomas Soucek says Joao Cancelo is one of the best players around
In a recent video shared on the East London club’s YouTube channel, Soucek was asked to create an ultimate world XI of the best players he’s either played with or against for club or country.
For the left-back spot, the midfielder picked Joao Cancelo as his choice and then said this about the City man.
He said: “Cancelo, at his best I think he’s a top player.
“I played against him and against City as well and also against Portugal and he scored the goal when we played against them with Portugal and he was top-class, I think he still is.
“If he shows his maximum, he’s for me the best.”
It’s a shame Cancelo’s City career has panned out the way it has recently
City signed the full-back from Juventus back in the 2019 summer transfer window.
With 154 appearances for the Citizens under his belt, the 30-year-old has scored nine goals, delivered 21 assists and won three Premier League titles.
In the middle of City’s Treble-winning season, Cancelo was loaned out to Bayern Munich before then joining Barcelona on loan for the entirety of the most recent campaign.
Soucek’s comments here aren’t the first instance where the Portuguese international has been hailed for his ability, as Kyle Walker said last month he thinks Cancelo is the best full-back in the world in terms of his technical ability.
Taking all of that on board, we feel this reiterates how much of a shame it is that the 30-year-old hasn’t been a part of the City squad for the past 18 months.