West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal should be available for Everton clash | OneFootball

West Ham are hoping that the international break has done Vladimir Coufal the world of good as they return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon…

What’s the latest?

According to Claret and Hugh, the 29-year-old right-back has been suffering from a minor injury, one that saw him withdrawn from Czech Republic duty last week.

It’s thought that his body was in need of a break after featuring week win, week out for club and country since the start of last season.

If fit, should Coufal be risked against Everton?

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An Irons source told the website: “Coufal’s body just needed a break. He’s played non stop for 18 months.

“He’s been feeling pain for weeks and hopefully this short break will help him recover as we need him back to his best.”

Positive news

Coufal recently put pen to paper on a new three-year contract with an option of a further year, having shone since a £5.4m move from Slavia Prague in the summer of 2020.

He missed their last Europa League outing with injury but returned to feature in their final game before the international break, a late 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Brentford.

You could tell that the industrious £18m-rated dynamo was still nursing a problem as he was some way off his usual standards, as explained by Football FanCast after the game.

The Czech star has quickly emerged as a real fan favourite around the London Stadium and he must’ve narrowly missed out on the club’s ‘Player of the Year’ award after providing seven assists in the Premier League last term, a feat only bettered by Aaron Cresswell (eight).

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Coufal has rarely missed games for the Hammers since arriving in east London. He played 34 times in the top-flight last season and ranked as David Moyes’ fifth-best performer, as per WhoScored ratings.

No player managed more tackles every 90 minutes (2.2) than the right-back and he wasn’t far behind for interceptions (1.2) and key passes (1.3) either.

“Coufal is a machine, he loves football,” is how club captain Mark Noble described him to ‘That Peter Crouch Podcast’ earlier this year, whilst Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher once lauded him as “a manager’s dream” to Monday Night Football [4th May, 22:24pm].

On that evidence, having him back available – and fully fit – would be a big boost for Moyes as he looks to steer his side back on track with a win at Goodison Park this weekend.