West Ham United defender Vladimir Coufal has admitted frustration at his current lack of game time.
The Czech Republic international has been with the Hammers since joining from Slavia Prague in 2020.
Coufal quickly established himself as the first-choice right-back and has made 162 appearances for the hammers in all competitions, helping them win the 2023 UEFA Conference League.
This season, however, he has made just two starts, five appearances and 223 minutes in the Premier League, with his only other two starts coming in the EFL Cup.
New manager Julen Lopetegui has favored summer signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka in Coufal’s position, with the former Man Utd defender playing 10 times in the league so far.
Vladimir Coufal talks about West Ham’s frustrations
At the age of 32, He backed off he’ll want to keep playing regular minutes as much as possible while he still can.
The experienced defender is now on international duty and has spoken to the Czech media about his recent frustrations, although he insists there is no bad blood between him and Lopetegui.
“When I spoke to the coach (Julen Lopetegui), he told me that he was very happy with me. That he is convinced that I will have more minutes, more chances and start playing, that I am a great professional,” said Coufal (via Sports testimony).
“I can’t say a bad word against the coach, or he has against me, it’s that we still don’t have a good time on the pitch. If it has to continue like this, we have to sit down and see what we have to do next. I definitely don’t want to sit on the bench, I still feel like I can play in the Premier League.”
For now, Coufal will remain focused on his duties with the Czech Republic, who face Albania and Georgia in the UEFA Nations League during the final international break.
