Vladimir Coufal could be playing himself into a new West Ham United contract after impressive first half performance v Manchester City
West Ham United enjoyed a resolute and assured defensive performance in the first half against Manchester City at the Etihad on Wednesday night [3 May].
The Hammers had the chance to pull seven points clear of the relegation zone when they faced a difficult test against a Premier League title-chasing City at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola’s men started the game in control of proceedings but were kept at bay by a resolute and much-depleted West Ham side missing the likes of Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd through illness.
Despite the Hammers’ having three of their key stars missing for the game, David Moyes will have been delighted by the way his players conducted themselves in such difficult circumstances, especially against a City hell-bent on reclaiming their Premier League title.
With Guardiola’s men claiming much of the territory at the Etihad, his attacking stars were met by a stout West Ham United resistance in defence, especially without the likes of Aguerd and the injured Kurt Zouma.
And one man who proved key to their efforts was the exit-linked Vladimir Coufal who faced up against a resurgent Jack Grealish.
Coufal is out of contract at the East Londoners in June and there have been no talks or developments of any potential new contract proposals on the table with the full-back remaining focused on the Hammers’ exploits both domestically and in Europe.
And given his first-half performance against the Citizens on Wednesday, the veteran Czech defender may well be playing himself into a new West Ham United contract if he manages to keep this up.
As per SofaScore, the 30-year-old picked up the best average score of any player on the pitch at an impressive 7.4/10 all while winning six of his seven total duels at a superb rate of 85%, registered one key pass, one big chance created which fell to Jarrod Bowen and completing two of his three crosses.
Coming up against Grealish is a difficult task for any defender but Coufal certainly held his own with the scores still level at half-time.
There are no guarantees the club will be able to strengthen at right-back this summer and Coufal’s resilient showing against City so far shows he may be trusted with the role for a while longer.