Vladimír Coufal is taking aim at setting a new personal record when West Ham United take on Newcastle United on Saturday.
The Hammers’ flying Czech right-back has recorded seven Premier League assists in 2023/24, matching his single season high set in his debut season in Claret and Blue in 2020/21, and he would love to make it eight at St James’ Park.
Coufal assisted Mohammed Kudus’s late equaliser in the 2-2 draw with the Magpies at London Stadium with a neat cutback in October, and also put in a superb delivery from the flank for Michail Antonio to score at home to Aston Villa in the Irons’ most recent top-flight match.
Only Newcastle’s own Kieran Trippier, with ten, has registered more assists from full-back this season, while his defensive contribution puts him in an elite band of Premier League players in his position performing at the highest level in the current campaign.
“I want to beat my personal best of seven Premier League assists, which I achieved in 2020/21,” he recalled, correctly. “That was my first season here, and I was really pleased with that total. But, records are there to be broken, and I want to keep doing my bit to help the team and ensure we’re scoring goals and getting results.
“We have many great players in attack, and when the likes of Jarrod, Mick, Lucas and Mo are up there to finish chances off it’s not hard to keep picking up assists.”
Coufal’s assist in West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa last time out kept the Londoners seventh in the Premier League table and, with nine games to play, right in the thick of the race for European qualification. Victory on Tyneside over a Newcastle team who start four points and three places behind their visitors would boost the Irons’ chances of securing UEFA competition football for a fourth straight season.
“We’ll take every game one-by-one from now until the end of the season,” the No5 explained. “There’s still lots to play for, and all the teams in the league are fighting their own battles at different levels. Some teams are trying to win titles, some are trying to qualify for Europe, and some are trying to avoid relegation.
“Sometimes when you come up against the sides near the bottom you’re expected to win, but we know from last season that those teams will battle for every ball and tackle, because their lives are on the line. Every game in this league is a tough challenge.”
When his contributions are combined with a winning mentality that has undoubtedly played a big part in West Ham’s improvement since his arrival in October 2020, you can see why the 31-year-old is one of the first names on David Moyes’ teamsheet, too.
With high-profile, potentially pivotal games to come in the Premier League and UEFA Europa League, where his Hammers will face a Bayer Leverkusen squad containing three of his fellow Czechs, Coufal is relishing what the future could bring.
“It’s been amazing to be part of the Club’s huge success over the last few years,” he confirmed. “I think expectations have risen, and we all want to be competing for Europe and in Europe every year now.
“We’ve been on an amazing adventure since I’ve been here, and we all want that to continue.”
