Slavia Prague coach Jindrich Trpisovsky has paid tribute to Vladimir Coufal, as the right-back closes in on a £5 million move to West Ham United, while speaking to Sport.
As recently as August, the 28-year-old Czech Republic international was putting pen to paper on a new long-term contract at Slavia, making it clear that he was excited to spend the next four seasons at the reigning league champions.
Just a few weeks later, however, everything has changed.
The ink is still drying on Coufal’s contract but the experienced full-back is expected to become a West Ham player before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Slavia president Jaroslav Tvrdik confirmed the deal on Twitter, claiming that David Moyes’ side will pay £5 million to bring Tomas Soucek’s former teammate to the London Stadium.
This morning, it was Trpisovsky’s turn to bid farewell to a man who won the Czech title in both of his seasons with the red and whites.
“A lot of people doubted him. He deserves (this move). For me, it’s a departure of a key player but we just have to replace him somehow,” Trpisovsky says.
“He played in almost every game. He was great and it’s a big loss for us, similar to Tomas Soucek. However, it is difficult to prevent him from leaving.”
If Coufal can replicate the impact made by Soucek, the rangy midfielder who has been a revelation both as a defensive ball-winner and a penalty-box presence, then this will be £5 million well spent.
The experienced full-back will compete with the erratic Ryan Fredericks and promising youngster Ben Johnson in West Ham’s starting XI.
West Ham’s record transfers
- Sebastien Haller
£45 million
- Felipe Anderson
£41.5 million
- Marko Arnautovic
£25 million
- Pablo Fornals
£24 million
- Issa Diop
£22 million
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