It’s been a bittersweet week for West Ham defender Vladimír Coufal, who was recently informed by the club that he is surplus to requirements for next season.
The Czech right-back has been a model professional since joining from Slavia Prague for just over £5 million, on the advice of his Czech mate Tomáš Souček.
Back in February, Coufal expressed his desire to remain at West Ham, even after the club rejected a deadline day offer from Fulham for the defender. However, the 32-year-old has now been told he won’t be offered a new contract, despite his willingness to stay.
But amidst the disappointment, there was some good news for the Coufal family. Vladimír took to Instagram to announce that his son, Niclas Coufal, has signed for West Ham United.
In a heartfelt message, Coufal wrote:
“Dreams come true if we work hard to achieve them.
You want to be like daddy since you have started to walk with a ball.😅
And now you are on the path you have chosen to take. We will support you every single day, my love. All family is proud of you. Keep enjoying the game, work hard and have a lot of experiences on your football journey. We love you❤️”
It’s a touching post from a player who has been a warrior for the Hammers and has always given everything to the cause. Despite being the lowest-paid senior player in the West Ham squad on a reported £35k per week, Coufal never once failed to give 100%.
As he looks set to move on, West Ham fans will undoubtedly wish him well, and hopefully, he’ll secure a well-deserved bumper contract at his next club.
In the meantime, it’s nice to know there’s a mini Coufal in the pipeline.
That is a lovely story. It was a great bit of business when we got him and Soucek, hope we can find a few more now with similar commitment.
Such a big rebuild needed in the summer. We all know that major changes are needed in midfield and we are missing a centre forward or two. But we are now so lacking in numbers at the back, particularly if Emerson goes and Aguerd doesn’t return, and Potter likes to play a 3! It would be madness to let Todibo go unless we have decent replacements lined up.
Can still do a job, I don’t think shipping him off is the right thing to do, but its up to the player too because he can’t be thought of as a first choice option, Cresswell too. I don’t think either of those 2 jepordize squad harmony, both good solid pro’s. Would I want them starting? Possibly Cress based on watching him and AWB play down that side together. Emerson needs to go more than Coufal in my opinion. Scarles not ready yet, probably won’t be for another year or 2, a loan spell to a decent Championship side would build his confidence up. We might be putting ourselves in a position where we only have 1 recognised FB next year.
I haven’t written the story because I was unable to confirm it Glenn. Bit I heard that Cresswell didn’t sign a short deal because he believed he could still start games regularly. Don’t know if that’s true of not.
Bristol City were certainly interested in him if they’d got promoted.
Both Cress and Coufal played well on Sunday and I agree that Scarles isn’t ready yet.
That makes sense Gonzo. When players get to this stage of a career it is not about the money. It is about playing regularly for as long as possible.
Once you stop it is very difficult to start again. You are a long time retired. Aaron Cresswell is class and will have no problem finding a club suitable for his lifestyle. He has medals to show how he can play.