Vladimir Coufal is backing West Ham’s new midfield duo to fill the void left by Declan Rice’s departure and to help the club avoid another ‘absolutely horrible’ Premier League campaign.
The Hammers slumped to a 14th place finish last season and looked in danger of going down until a late upturn in form secured their top-flight survival.
And Coufal admitted he feared his side would not be able get out of the predicament they found themselves in, while acknowledging that the season would have been disastrous had they not lifted the Europa Conference League trophy.