Could Daniel Kretinsky once again turn West Ham United into the place to be for ambitious Czech talents?
The ‘Czech Sphinx’ certainly enjoyed seeing Tomas Soucek shine in East London.
Soucek, alongside Vladimir Coufal and Ludek Miklosko, helped give West Ham United what Kretinsky called – in a 2023 interview with The Times – a real ‘affinity’ with Czech football, although the less said about Alex Kral the better.
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Max Hahn's comments speak volumes…
Slavia Prague striker Tomas Chory, then, may have been a striker signing to warm the cockles of their prospective majority shareholder.
Slavia Prague willing to forgive West Ham United-linked Tomas Chory
West Ham were linked with 24-time Czech international Chory this week. But not for long.
Club insider ExWhuEmployee scotched those rumours only 24 hours after they emerged. There has been no enquiry, at least not yet.
The message out of Prague, meanwhile, is that Slavia are looking to repair a relationship that became extremely strained last season.
Strained, maybe, but estranged? Not quite; chairman Jaroslav Tvrdik leaving the door ajar for a fresh start.
“By excluding him from the squad and what he experienced, he was punished in a way,” Tvrdik tells eFotbol.
The suspension he talks about refers to the six-match ban Chory copped after being sent off for violent conduct during May’s 0-0 draw with Viktoria Plzen.
“For me, it is simply completely clear. Some things simply cannot happen anymore,” adds Tvrdik.
“At the moment, Tomas Chory has a valid contract and it expires on June 30th of next year. We completely agree with the owner that, in order to consider extending it, we first want to see at least the autumn season of this year without a single [example of] unsportsmanlike behaviour.
“We want to see Tomas as a valid player and also as a sporting role model in his own way and as a colleague who will help his teammates.”
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Do the Hammers really need a striker with Taty Castellanos sticking around?
Tvrdik does confirm that Chory has ‘offers from abroad’, though he would not be drawn on those West Ham rumours. Remarkably, Chory scored 17 goals in 22 games last season while also missing seven games through suspension.
His current six-game ban is the second he has received over the last 12 months.
Understandably, given his prolific goalscoring record, Slavia are willing to take the occasional rough with the smooth.
“I would like to tell you where I will play [next season], but I don’t know the answer to that question myself yet,” Chory says. “I have so many ideas.
“It should be announced in the coming hours. We’ll see what happens and how.”
West Ham may yet decide to take a punt on Chory, a two-time Czech league champion who has played 22 games together with Soucek on the international stage.
This would not be a transfer devoid of risk, however; the hothead centre-forward hitting headlines for reasons both good and bad during a topsy-turvy campaign in Prague.
For the moment, reinforcements in central midfield and central defence appear to be the priority for West Ham. Taty Castellanos is now expected to stay at the London Stadium alongside Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Felipe.
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