Ben Johnson says under-fire West Ham teammate Vladimir Coufal has been ‘fantastic’

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Ben Johnson stood up for his under-fire West Ham United teammate Vladimir Coufal, when speaking to the club’s official website.

Coufal was brought to the Hammers by David Moyes for around £4 million in October 2020 (The Sun).

The 30-year-old made a fine start to life in England and was brilliant for West Ham during his debut Premier League campaign. The Czech Republic international’s form has fallen off the face of a cliff since then though.

David Moyes recently suggested that he and the club are doing everything to make Coufal feel better in the wake of the abuse that he has been receiving recently from so-called fans.

The thing is, the onus is very much on the ex-Slavia Prague right-back to improve his own form.

With Thilo Kehrer and Ben Johnson providing the competition at right-back, it will be very hard for Coufal to get back in the starting XI.

And Johnson alluded to that competition, when lending his support to Coufi…

Ben Johnson praises under-fire West Ham teammate Vladimir Coufal

The 22-year-old Hammers right-back is relishing the challenge he now has for his first-team starting spot.

And Johnson told WHUFC.com how highly he rates Coufal, in spite of his poor recent form:

In Thilo Kehrer and Vladimir Coufal, you’ve got two international players I’m competing with. That shows the calibre of player we have at this Club, in that position. Thilo is versatile and Vlad has been fantastic for us ever since he signed. I wouldn’t say the competition is daunting though. We have a healthy relationship, and we all want the team to do well. It helps everyone going forward.

It’s nice that Johnson is sticking up for his teammate, it really is.

There is no room for sentiment at the very highest level of the game though. Vladimir Coufal will be fully aware that his form for West Ham over the past nine months just hasn’t been good enough.

The pressure is on for him to perform every single time that he takes to the pitch now, because he knows that he has two very good players competing with him for his place. And that can only be a good thing for West Ham.

Ben Johnson has made it clear what he thinks of his West Ham teammate Vladimir Coufal. And we all know that he has the quality – he proved that during the 2020/21 season.

Now’s the time for him to stand up and be counted, if he is to have any kind of future at the London Stadium.

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