West Ham United continue to be linked with a move for Spartak Moscow midfielder Alex Kral but, as veteran Czech agent Zdenek Nehoda told CT Sport, a move to the Premier League is far from imminent at this stage.
The European Championships could hardly have come at a better time for Kral.
Heading into the tournament, the poodle-haired midfielder was being tipped to complete a £14 million move to the Premier League, and an impressive showing on the international stage would have paved the way for Kral to join Czech teammates Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek at the London Stadium.
At least, that was the idea.
Instead, Kral has underwhelmed at Euro 2020, dropped to the bench after struggling in the group-stage opener against Scotland. He played just five minutes during the shock win against the Netherlands on Sunday.
And West Ham appear to have turned their attention to other targets too, with Morten Thorsby and Ellyes Skhiri emerging onto the scene in recent weeks.
Is Alex Kral to West Ham still going to happen?
“It’s being written about, it’s being talked about, but there’s no specific offer or (if there is) I’ve never heard of it,” said Nehoda.
“Just because it’s being written about his transfer doesn’t mean (the club) are really interested in him.”
Nehoda, however, does not believe West Ham will turn their nose up at Kral after one difficult afternoon at Hampden Park.
“When you watch someone for a long time and it does not work out in one or two matches, you will not walk away from the transfer. That is not the case.”
West Ham legend Trevor Sinclair gave Kral his seal of approval a few weeks ago, believing that a player renowned for his boundless energy and tough-tackling style could ease the pressure on the overworked Declan Rice in David Moyes’ engine room.
The Hammers lost three of the six games Rice missed through injury in the spring.
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