West Ham United added two new signings on deadline day, with the arrival of Spartak Moscow’s Alex Kral capping off their transfer business.
Nikola Vlasic arrived from CSKA Moscow earlier in the day, and West Ham decided to use the Russian market once again before the deadline.
Midfielder Kral has been on West Ham’s wish list throughout the summer having impressed David Moyes with his energy and mentality.
It looked like a move wouldn’t happen, but West Ham did end up agreeing to take Kral on loan with a view to a permanent move in 2022.
Kral provides another option in central midfield, meaning Moyes won’t have to rely on veteran Mark Noble as the main cover for Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek.
Kral’s move increases the Czech influence at West Ham too, as he knows both Soucek and defender Vladimir Coufal very well.
The trio played together at Slavia Prague and also feature in the Czech national team together, with West Ham fans already loving Coufal and Soucek.
Kral will hope to be just as popular in East London, and Rice has now taken to Twitter to react after learning he has another Czech teammate.
Rice offered just four words, stating ‘Czech mates taking over’ as the Czech influence at West Ham grows and grows – but he won’t be allowing Kral and Soucek to play together too often, as that would likely mean him losing his role in the team!
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