West Ham have agreed on a deal with SK Slavia Prague to sign their first new player of the summer transfer window.
The President of SK Slavia Prague, Jaroslav Tvrdík, confirmed last night on Twitter that West Ham had agreed to a €6 million fee for right-back Vladimir Coufal. The defender will fly to England today in order to complete a medical ahead of completing his move to the Hammers.
West Ham have been forced to sign a right-back due to the injury Ryan Fredericks picked up on Sunday. The Englishman was forced off the pitch against Wolves with a hamstring injury and is likely to be sidelined for the next six weeks.
The other option at the Hammers disposal is academy graduate Ben Johnson. The 20-year-old is yet to make the desired impact in the first team. Johnson is a good player and a great prospect, but it is too soon for the club to be reliant on him to take charge of the right-back position.
Podekoval jsem obrovskemu bojovnikovi a srdcarovi Vladimirovi Coufalovi za jeho skvele pusobeni ve Slavii. Na zaklade uzavrene smlouvy prestupuje do WHU. Podminkou prestupu je zdravotni prohlidka zitra v Londyne. Cena transferu je 6 milionu euro. Vlado, at se ti v PL dari! ❤️👏✊
— Jaroslav Tvrdik (@JaroslavTvrdik) September 30, 2020
Coufal has said his goodbyes to SK Slavia Prague after his final appearance for the club last night in the Champions League. The 28-year-old will become West Ham’s most senior right-back in terms of age and footballing experience.
The Czech defender has played a lot of top-flight football for SK Slavia Prague as well as Champions League football. This season Coufal has provided three assists in only five games in the League.
West Ham still needs to invest further in their defence if they are to have a successful season. Last night the Hammers were torn apart, 4-1, by Everton in the League Cup. The drop in quality from the first to second team is vast.
Manager David Moyes is still after a central-defender and a left-back. The club have been linked to Daniel Rugani, Wesley Fofana and James Tarkowski in the past. But now the Hammers are trying to bring in one of Joe Rodon (Swansea City), Nikola Maksimović (Napoli) and Nikola Milenković (ACF Fiorentina).
The transfer window is set to shut on October 5th, meaning West Ham only have four more days to finalise any business they plan to do.