According to a West Ham United source, via Football Insider, GSB and the club are still in contact over a potential deal for Spartak Moscow midfielder Alex Kral – with a ‘lucrative five-year contract’ having already been discussed.
The Lowdown: West Ham eye Czech contingent…
Since the successful signings of both Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek from Slavia Prague, with both men enjoying a brilliant 2020/2021 debut season with West Ham, links to other Czech internationals show no sign of stopping.
The likes of Adam Hlozek, Jan Kuchta, Ondrej Kolar and David Zima have all been mentioned in the last six months alone while Kral is another name.
Reports indicated the club were in advanced talks at the very start of the window, but his sub-par Euro 2020 outings apparently turned West Ham away.
The Latest: West Ham in contact for Kral…
As per a West Ham source (via FI), the club and GSB are still ‘in contact over a potential deal’ for the 23-year-old having already ‘discussed a lucrative five-year contract’.
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The midfielder is indeed still on manager David Moyes’ radar according to Football Insider, but they are not willing to pay Spartak’s £20m-plus asking price plus add-ons.
As well as this, West Ham are apparently confident they can lure Kral away from the Russian Premier League for lower than the club’s demands.
The Verdict: Right move?
Given West Ham’s need for a new striker and new centre-half, arguably more than any other position, a move for Kral certainly shouldn’t be at the forefront of GSB’s thinking.
Michail Antonio was sidelined for extended periods consistently over 2020/2021, leaving West Ham desperately short up front, while the departure of Fabian Balbuena leaves Moyes with just Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop in the heart of defence.
We therefor urge the Irons to prioritise other swoops before Kral as the transfer window deadline looms at the end of next month.
In other news: ‘What a day’, ‘On my knees’…ExWHUemployee’s update has some West Ham fans talking, find out more here.