What You Need To Know About West Ham’s ‘Imminent’ Signing
By Adam Smith
With just a few days left in the transfer window, it appears West Ham have made a move for a defender. Here is what you need to know about Vladimir Coufal.
Better late than never? West Ham’s board have pushed supporters to their limits over this transfer window crying the poor mouth and balking at realistic transfer valuations. That being said, with the latest linked player the Hammers could be in for a bargain.
Czech international and Slavia Prague standout defender (right-back) Vladimir Coufal appears to be headed to East London, as reported by The Guardian. The 28-year-old right-back is hardly a youthful signing, however, his experience and current level of performance speak for themselves.
This news emerged after Ryan Fredericks sustained a hamstring injury against Wolves. The oft-injured defender has thrived in a new wingback role, but his reliability is always a question due to his terrible injury history. A move for a more reliable and experienced defender makes sense.
Here is what you need to know about Vladimir Coufal:
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He is a Czech International: Much like his former teammate and now West Ham lynchpin Tomas Soucek, Coufal is an internationally capped player for the Czech Republic. With 8 senior caps and one U21 cap, Coufal has nabbed two goals in his international career providing offence from the backline, something West Ham could use more of!
He is very experienced in European football: Coufal can boast 36 Europa League matches and 11 Champions League matches for Slavia Prague and Slovan Liberec, amounting to 4,148 minutes of tournament play in his career! West Ham are looking to build a younger team, but the experience Coufal could provide to Johnson and Ashby who play right-back is invaluable.
He can provide *some* offensive production: As mentioned with his international synopsis, Coufal can score. In 173 career matches at right-back, the defender has scored 11 goals while adding 15 assists. Should he come to West Ham and factor in at wingback, these numbers will hopefully inflate with him in a more advanced position.
It appears agent Soucek could be at work for the Hammers here as they double-dip for Czech players from Slavia Prague. After Soucek’s early success and adoration by the West Ham supporters, it makes sense to go back to the well for another player from the same team.
The fee is rumoured to be £4m, which is remarkably low for a player of his stature, current level of play, and with his experience. He is also contracted until 2024 which would keep him until he is 32 on what can only be imaged as very reasonable wages.
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Overall, West Ham supporters should be excited for Coufal even if they don’t know much about him because the unknown, as in the case of Tomas Soucek, can sometimes be spectacular. He should provide solid cover, experience and a further defensive option for the manager to use, all positive aspects of his potentially imminent move!