West Ham have a well established relationship with Slavia Prague. In October 2020 West Ham signed [Vladimir Coufal](https://www.claretandhugh.info/coufal-has-something-to-smile-about-following-hammers-knock-back/) for £5.3m. At the time he was a 28-year- old established Czech Republic international. He came highly recommended by Tomas Soucek who joined the Hammers in July 2020 following a loan spell, in a deal worth £19m. Like Coufal, Soucek was also a regular for the national team.
Fast forward five years later, and West Ham have had a £17.5m bid rejected by Slavia Prague for **El-Hadji Malick Diouf**. The Senegal youngster only joined in January 2024 for £2m and already has four international caps to his name.
The Czech club are reportedly holding out for £21.5M – a fee that would represent a record transfer fee for the Czech league and it remains uncertain whether West Ham will return with an improved offer.
Club President, Jaroslav Tvrdik appears to be searching for a bidding war for his prized asset. This comes despite previously pricing Abdullah Sima out of a move to West Ham, only to later accept a much lower bid from Brighton where Sima has since been loaned out repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Ollie Scarles, who is just one year younger than Diouf, is looking to establish himself in the West Ham first team. He has already caught the eye with impressive performances last season, including stand-out displays against Arsenal at the Emirates and Aston Villa, the latter earning him a Man of the Match award.
The idea of targeting lesser known leagues was intended to secure young talent affordably – without paying inflated transfer fees or wages. Adding to the confusion is the apparent lack of transfer activity between West Ham and another major Czech club, Sparta Prague – despite West Ham shareholder Daniel Kretinsky also owning the Czech side.
It is surprising that no loan arrangements or permanent transfers have been arranged, either for West Ham’s Academy youngsters to gain invaluable experience in European competitions, or for Sparta players to make the switch to London.
At the moment the tangible benefits of Daniel Kretinsky’s presence at West Ham remains highly debatable, unless he decides to buy out David Sullivan or acquire the 25% equity held by Vanessa Gold, which would then make him the majority shareholder.