Vladimir Coufal
West Ham United right-back Vladimir Coufal has revealed that talks did take place with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen over a potential move last January.
Coufal has revealed that Leverkusen did send representatives to speak to him over a potential January switch, with the experienced right-back’s contract set to run out this summer, although West Ham do have an option to extend that deal by two years should they wish to.
Speaking on the talks, Coufal admits that while the size of the club attracted him, a stay in England with West Ham in the Premier League is what he preferred.
Vladimir Coufal said: “There was interest, people from the club came to see, some negotiations took place. But it was a standard market demand, nothing to do with me leaving. At Bayer, they were deciding whether Jeremie Frimpong would leave, I wasn’t that busy at the time. Of course, it attracted me in a way, Leverkusen is an elite German team, there are two Czech boys in the squad, they play interesting football. But maybe it would be a step back. Not from a team point of view, but from a competition point of view, the Premier League is the best in my eyes. So, I preferred to stay in England. I’m happy to have earned a place in the West Ham squad.”
Coufal has also spoken out on what manager Moyes told him during the World Cup break after the defender had lost his place in the starting 11. He said that Moyes told him that he made a “mistake” by dropping him in the run up to the World Cup, adding that he does not want the 30-year-old to leave the club.
Vladimir Coufal added: “Right after the World Cup, he called me and said that I was important to him, that it was a mistake that I didn’t play a few matches. He said that if I had planned to leave for somewhere, he wouldn’t let me go.”
