West Ham United could sanction Vladimir Coufal exit amid Oscar Mingueza transfer links

West Ham could sanction the exit of Vladimir Coufal in January if speculation that has emerged from abroad is anything to go by.

Reports from Spain [18 November] claimed at the weekend that Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza is a target for the Irons.

Mingueza is as versatile as they come, as he is able to play at centre-back, in central midfield and indeed at right-back.

It is mainly on the right side of defence that he has thrived for Celta this season, and that could spell bad news for Coufal if these rumours are true.

The Czech Republic international has been a regular in that position under David Moyes, but an upgrade has been sought for a while now.

A failure to strengthen both sides of defence in the summer was the only blight on an otherwise positive transfer window.

But that may be about to change early in the new year, with this speculation coming at a time when Coufal's United career is already in doubt.

That is because the 31-year-old is due to be out of contract in the summer, albeit with the club having the option to trigger a 12-month extension.

West Ham will almost certainly do so, but it may well be that Coufal is sold while he still has value if Mingueza comes in.

According to the report, former Barcelona player Mingueza is available for around £17.5million (€20m), so United will need to bring in some money to help fund that.

Coufal has been a great servant to West Ham, and will continue to be so for now, but it is time to start looking ahead to the future.

In other West Ham news, David Moyes' worst fears at London Stadium have now been realised.