West Ham have confirmed a deal for Spartak Moscow midfielder Alex Kral on a year-long loan with the option to buy at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old has been on David Moyes’ radar for some time with the Hammers manager singling out Kral as one of his ‘players to watch’ during the recent European Championships.
The deal to bring Kral to the London Stadium is West Ham’s second of a busy transfer deadline day, following the £25.7million capture of Croatian international Nikola Vlasic.
Kral is currently away on international duty with the Czech Republic, where he plays alongside Hammers duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal. Kral will link up with his new teammates at West Ham’s Rush Green training ground following the international window and will be in contention to make his Hammers debut on September 11 away at Southampton.
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football.london understands that the deal for Kral includes an option to buy at the end of the season on a four-year deal for a fee in the region of £12million, which could rise to £17m after add-ons.
The loan fee is understood to be £3m with the Hammers obliged to make the deal permanent if Kral starts a certain number of matches for the club.
Kral and Vlasic join Kurt Zouma, Alphonse Areola and Craig Dawson as the major incomings at West Ham so far this summer with Moyes understood to be delighted with his recent additions.
The Hammers announced the signing of Kral with his two Czech teammates on either side of him introducing him to the West Ham faithful.
West Ham manager David Moyes was thrilled to add Kral to his squad.
“I am delighted to welcome Alex to West Ham United,” Moyes said. “He will provide good competition in the centre of midfield. He is another young, talented player who we feel has a big potential and will be capable of adapting to the demands of the Premier League.
“We’ve brought him in on loan initially and, hopefully, over the course of the season he will make a valuable contribution, particularly with our busier schedule of fixtures.
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“Alex is another established international player with the Czech Republic, and we hope he has similar characteristics and hunger to that of Tomas and Vladimir.”
Kral’s arrival paved the way for Conor Coventry to seal a loan move away from the club in order to gain first-team experience.
The Republic of Ireland U21 captain has joined Peterborough United on a season-long loan with a break clause in January.
https://www.football.london/west-ham-united-fc/news/breaking-west-ham-transfer-kral-21445872
