Vladimir Coufal appears to be nearing the West Ham exit this summer with a new deal unlikely.

It won’t come as a huge surprise, with many feeling its time now to call time on the Czech internationals outstanding time in east London, whereby in 5 years, he has become a cult hero in east London.

However, at 32 years of age and a new era under Graham Potter taking shape, it seems the time is coming for Coufal to bid farewell.

His recent interview though with MF DNES, as reported by Sport Witness, has unfortunately shown a serious air of frustration from Coufal surrounding his current status at the club.

“My position is not ideal, and I need to know where I am,” said the Hammers defender. “Due to poor results, coach Lopetegui, with whom I started to talk, left. He was fired when I was playing in the starting lineup against Liverpool and Manchester City. He liked my stubborn style,

“Potter immediately changed the formation and moved me from the side of the defence to the centre-back, which is a position I’ve never played. Despite that, I think I managed those games. But then I wouldn’t have played anyway, and I got injured.

“I’m torn about all this because West Ham didn’t let me go to Fulham on deadline day. I guess not many people know about this.”

Coufal went on to explain how he fancied a deadline day move to Fulham in January, which was denied by West Ham – which really can’t be argued considering Coufal and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are our 2 senior players in the right-back position.

“In the dressing room after the match against Chelsea, I look at my phone and there are four missed calls from my agent. Plus, a message: Call me immediately,” said Coufal.

“Fulham offered great conditions. Karol asked: Would you like it? And I said: Why not, if there’s no use at West Ham.”

“I’ll be 33 and it made sense to me, although I love West Ham and could imagine finishing my career there.

“As for Fulham, I would stay in the Premier League and even in London. We really like it there. My son has started playing in the West Ham academy and is doing better than I expected. My daughter will be going to school next year. How do I explain to them that we are moving to a completely different place? That is why I need to hear from West Ham so that I can consider what to do next.”

It appears to be an unfortunate and rather sad end that is happening surrounding Coufal, however he will still have more involvement in some capacity before he likely leaves in the summer.

Coufal is in fact fit and available when we face Wolves on Tuesday night next week. Fans can explore the markets on this game or even dab their toe in Big Bass Splash.

Graham Potter will be eager to get a positive result as we look to finish this season on a high, ahead of a no-doubt very busy summer (once again) in east London.