Despite an incredible record that got even better against Crystal Palace, West Ham still needs to replace Vladimir Coufal – view
West Ham United hosted Crystal Palace in the Premier League this afternoon at the London Stadium, and Vladimir Coufal received plenty of praise once again.
West Ham took the lead against Crystal Palace within the first 15 minutes of the game today, thanks to a Mohammed Kudus goal off a Vladimir Coufal assist.
Coufal, 31, has been in incredible form this season, according to the stats. This season, the Czech Republic international has five assists in 14 games for the Hammers (Transfermarkt).
The experienced right-back has done well for West Ham since moving to the London Stadium three years ago, but his future at the club is said to be uncertain, with David Moyes preparing a move for Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Many Hammers fans have lavished praise on Coufal this season, and to be fair, he has improved from last season.
However, Moyes should not overlook the need for a new right-back, and Scot must be aware that the Czech defender’s impressive assist record this season does not imply that he is the type of defender we require to progress to the next level…
Vladimir Coufal provides another assist for West Ham against Crystal Palace.
This afternoon, the 31-year-old registered his fifth assist of the season.
However, I have the impression that those assists have only served to cover up the flaws. Coufal, in my opinion, is a right-back on the decline, and if we had someone like Emerson Palmieri on the other side of the pitch, we’d be a real threat.
If West Ham are to make genuine progress up to the next level, we need a younger, more energetic, and dynamic right wing-back.
Coufal has always been a competent defender, but he’s getting beaten far too easily for pace these days, and his impressive assist record through the first 14 Premier League games of the season is somewhat of an anomaly when compared to his career record (37 in 400 games).
There is no way he can keep providing assists at the rate he has been this season – roughly one every three games.
Moyes must erase those assists and sign a top-tier young right-back in January or next summer. I’m not suggesting we sell Vladimir Coufal; he’s still a valuable member of West Ham’s squad, as he demonstrated today against Crystal Palace.
However, the need for improvement in the right-back position is clear and obvious in my opinion.
