West Ham United is delighted to announce the signing of Czech Republic international right-back Vladimír Coufal.
Coufal joins the Hammers from reigning Czech First League champions Slavia Prague on a contract until the summer of 2023 for an undisclosed fee, with the option of a further two years.
Capped eight times by his country, the 28-year-old joins his former Slavia and current national team colleague Tomáš Souček at London Stadium, and is hoping to emulate the midfielder by making an immediate impact in Claret and Blue.
"I’m very happy I am part of the West Ham family," said Coufal, who will wear the No5 shirt. "I will do everything so that West Ham will be successful.
"I know about the interest West Ham had in me for a long time but now finally I am here and I am so happy.
“Tomáš told me on the best things, that it’s a good stadium with good fans and perfect teammates and staff. Tomáš is my very good friend and I hope he will help me here.”
Manager David Moyes welcomed the signing of Coufal, saying: “We are delighted to welcome Vladimír and his family to West Ham United.
“He is a player we have been tracking for some time now and all of our reports have been very impressive. He has a lot of attributes and qualities that we believe will enable him to adapt quickly to the demands of the Premier League
“Vladimír fits the profile of the type of player we want to bring to the football club – hungry, ambitious and determined. He is a proven talent with Champions League and international experience, but we believe his best years are still ahead of him here at West Ham.
“We need to give Vladimír some time to settle in and get used to his new surroundings but having Tomáš Souček here will help him in that sense, and we are confident that he will make a positive impact and prove to be a great addition to the squad.”
Born in the city of Ostrava in the far east of Czech Republic in August 1992, Coufal began his career with FC Hlučín, debuting in a 2. Liga fixture at Dukla Prague in September 2010, just four weeks after his 18th birthday.
After spending the 2011/12 season on loan with 2. Liga club Opava, the defender was signed by First League club Slovan Liberec, where he spent the next six seasons, winning the Czech Cup in 2015 and making more than 150 appearances, including 27 in the UEFA Europa League.
It was during his final campaign at Slovan Liberec that Coufal was rewarded for his consistently impressive performances with a senior international debut for Czech Republic, starting his country’s 1-0 friendly win in Qatar in November 2017.
The following summer, he was signed by one of Czech Republic’s two biggest clubs, Slavia Prague, where he teamed up with Souček and enjoyed two trophy-filled seasons, completing a domestic double in 2018/19 and securing a second straight First League title last season.
After appearing in three more friendly internationals, Coufal made his competitive debut for his country in September 2019, starting a 3-0 UEFA Euro 2020 win in Montenegro and keeping his place for the outstanding 2-1 victory over England the following month.
He will become the eighth Czech player to represent West Ham, following Luděk Mikloško (1990-98), Tomáš Řepka (2001-06), Pavel Srníček (2004), Marek Štěch (2006-12), Jan Laštůvka (2008-09), Radoslav Kováč (2008-11) and Souček, who joined the Irons earlier this year.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Vladimír to London Stadium and wish him all the very best for his career in Claret and Blue.
