West Ham United must have thought they had struck gold when they brought Czech Republic internationals Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek to the Premier League two years ago, both men adapting like proverbial ducks to water in claret-and-blue.
So when another Czech talent arrived on loan from Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2021, hopes were high.
10 months and one measly Premier League minute later, however, Alex Kral was leaving via the back door, heading back to Russia after failing to emulate the successes of compatriots Coufal and Soucek under David Moyes.
Not that he was given much of an opportunity to do just that.
“Of course, it’s hard for me,” the poodle-haired midfielder said during his oh-so forgettable stint in the English capital; his one and only top-flight appearance coming during the dying stages of December’s 4-1 thrashing of Watford at Vicarage Road.
“I’ve never been in a situation where I wasn’t playing. At Spartak, I was on the field every game.”
Alex Kral now at Schalke after West Ham United spell
Now at Schalke, Kral is at least playing regular first-team football again. The 24-year-old has started five Bundesliga games since moving to Germany in July. But that’s the sole positive amongst a sea of negatives; like a lone daisy defying the heat in a scorching dessert.
Schalke have won just one of 10 Bundesliga matches since Kral’s arrival. As luck would have it, he on the bench for that 3-1 victory over the equally-hapless VFL Bochum too. In the 24-year-old’s last three outings, Schalke have suffered a trio of heavy defeats, by an aggregate score of 12-1. Across his nine first-team appearances, there have been six defeats in all competitions, including a derby loss at Dortmund and a 6-1 thumping by table-topping Union Berlin.
Tuesday’s latest shellacking – 5-1 by Hoffenheim in the DFB Pokal – proved to be the final straw for Frank Kramer too. The coach who signed Kral only three months ago paying with his job. Another punishing relegation battle looms for a side still bearing the scars of that humiliating 2020/21 campaign.
Kral is certainly better off away from West Ham United. Better to play, even at a struggling club, than to not play at all. But, for the second summer in a row, the Czech Republic international must be wondering if he’s at the wrong club at the wrong time.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
