Sky Sports reporter, Dharmesh Sheth has told GiveMeSport that David Moyes doesn’t have Vladimir Coufal in his plans.
Sheth believes that the signings of defenders, Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer have shown his lack of faith in the 30-year-old. In addition, Ben Johnson has started to get game time this season, making seven Premier League appearances.
Coufal signed for the Hammers back in October 2020, signing from Slavia Prague for £5.4 million.
Here’s what Sheth said about the Czech Republic international’s future with the club: “If you look at the stats, he’s [Coufal] made seven Premier League starts this season.
“The likes of Ben Johnson have started ahead of him at right-back. I think more significantly when centre-back Nayef Aguerd was injured in pre-season, the club signed Thilo Kehrer.
“I think he was predominantly brought in as a central defender, but what has transpired is that he’s ended up playing right-back. If that’s not a message to Vladimír Coufal that he’s not part of the plans, then I don’t know what is.”
TIF’s view on Sheth’s comments…
We believe that it’s looking as if the 49-cap West Ham man, could be on his way out of the club very soon.
Sky Sports reporter, Marlon Irlbacher tweeted in mid-November that Bayer Leverkusen were in talks with the Hammers for Coufal’s services.
In his first season, the 30-year-old impressed. He picked up seven league assists and helped towards nine Premier League clean sheets, giving him an average rating of 7.01 on Sofascore.
Gradually his appearances have decreased during his time at West Ham. Coufal made 34 league appearances in the 2020/21 campaign, 28 last season and has only nine so far this season (seven of those being starts).
So, judging by the diminishing appearances and David Moyes opting to use Ben Johnson on a number of occasions, Coufal’s time with the Hammers may be up.
At 30-years-old, the defender could well take the opportunity to leave in January, whether it be a permanent deal or a loan move.