Turkish club Besiktas are reportedly showing interest in signing Irons defender Vladimir Coufal.
The Czech right-back is in the final year of his West Ham contract and is set to face a struggle for first-team opportunities under Julen Lopetegui this season.
The Hammers are actively looking to replace Coufal, who has been an incredible servant to the club. However, age and a new coaching philosophy have made it difficult for the defender, who has been poor in pre-season.
West Ham are locked in what seems like eternal negotiations with Manchester United full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with little sign of an agreement. As a result, Irons director of football Tim Steidten has identified several alternatives, the latest of which is Newcastle United and England defender Kieran Trippier.
Steidten and West Ham are believed to be keeping their options open and still have several targets should the Wan-Bissaka deal continue to stall.
However, selling Coufal might not be the smartest move given that he is currently our only right-back and would provide cover for whoever comes in.
Respect , Respect, Respect
can you please remove such phrases from your word processor as chopping block , they are not respectful to people ,not true and certainly not clever , in fact I would say the opposite.
Coufal has always been underrated by the. Media. A tenacious defender who is also one of the lowest paid..He always gives everything on the pitch and has been a great servant for the club.Ok he’s getting on but he’s still one of best left backs in the league. Paying millions for a replacement on £100000 a week from Man.utd is madness.. do you think HE will play every week with the same dedication? Probably not, more interested in counting his money
Er, Coufal is a RIGHT BACK, not left back! Otherwise I agree with you.
I like Coufal myself. He has that kind of bulldog or terrier like quality that reminds me of players like Mark Ward that we had years ago. I’m sure they’d love me comparing them to dogs but the point is I like those sort of hard working grafters in our team. You could say Bowens the same and he links up well with Coufal. If he’s leaving though I can only assume we are buying not one, but two new right backs. Perhaps our eyes have been opened to the market.
im convinced we are going to sign martinez from girona
although he’s got plenty of senior team experience (for his age) i am not quite convinced you can go in with him being first choice – if for nothing else but to insulate him from the pressure when needed
he is more of a guilhereme signing than a starter, the potentials and he’ll offer solid competition for coufal but i think you have be a bit cautious beyond that
with this news im starting to think martinez is coufals replacement and we are going to bring in 2x RBs – perhaps there is some substance to the turkish kid or maybe we continue to push hard with AWB
coufal is a very attractive player for foreign clubs, he’s a top value:quality proposition being on a measly 20k/wk
Coufal is a class act. With better players around him and a better standard of gameplay style from the team, his contributions will be outstanding this season. Even though he is almost a pensioner according to the ‘Under 25 Brigade’, he is quality and understands his job and the roles of others, too. We need players like Vlad. We certainly do not need any current England internationals. Gareth Southgate and the FA have rinsed them of any creativity or instinctive play. Let’s build up our buttercup and stop the knocking. Vlad is also a very good human being. A characteristic not always found in many ‘professional’ footballers.
COYI
Its sad how p@ poor this site has become.
The articles rarely offer any new insight that can’t be picked up elsewhere online. They are badly researched and are never proof read
But I think the saddest thing overall is how negative and divisive they are, and how disrespectful you are to players like Coufal who lets face it is a much better footballer than you are journalist.
I always thought West Ham fans were better than that, so maybe things have changed or maybe you just ain’t really West Ham fans.
Anyway as you readily point out, if you don’t like the site go somewhere.
So I will.
Iron & TC….really? Stop with the negative remarks already. Who’s the disrespectful one here. Gonzo is clearly stating the facts and putting and article out. It’s how he makes a living and is part of his craft. Clearly you are missing the point in the post.
Fitz, the negativity initially came from Gonzo, and for the record it’s his opinion, and definitely not a fact! I’m not bothered how he makes a living, but he isn’t as good at his craft as Coufal is a right back, but obviously you think its ok for Gonzo to criticise do you? And just to reassure you Fitz, I’m definitely not missing the point of this post, I truly wish that I was! This isn’t his You tube channel so get over it
Lol really Gonzo? So after saying he is next on the chopping block and how bad you think he has been in pre-season (obviously just your opinion, so not really any kind of indication) which is very unfair seeing as he returned to the squad late – you then finish the article by saying its not the smartest move seeing as he is currently our only right back. Did you read it before you posted it? Or just wanted to post some more irrelevance!