In a somewhat surprising turnaround, Hlozek instead joins Hoffenheim permanently as their record signing. It’s the best possible move for him as it was evidently clear the priority was to remain in Germany (and two new Czech teammates is a nice bonus). Hoffenheim are already qualified for the Europa League and will definitely rely on him to be a focal point be in their attack.
Hranac is on the radar of numerous clubs across Europe. The first few reportedly from Italy (Parma and Torino) but Plzen rejected initial offers. They’re looking to sell for around €10 million. The latest team to be in the mix is now Hoffenheim who are quite depleted in defence. Surely four Czechs on the same roster would be a record? (amongst the top five leagues anyways).
A shame because he had an essentially flawless season up until that point. I think if we didn’t do so poorly as a team and advanced to the knockouts, those moments would be overlooked and there’d be no debating Plzen’s price. Vitik is also being monitored by Hoffenheim (along with most clubs in Europe at this point). I think he needs another full season at Sparta though.
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Hranac to Hoffenheim is done from the sounds of it. Bologna is the latest club linked to Vitik. It feels strange after the last decade of mostly lower league role player defenders that we will likely have a starting defense entirely of players in top 4 leagues soon.
We could now technically field an entire XI of players from the top four leagues which I don’t think has been possible since the golden generation. It’s just that most nations around our level have become better and the game itself has evolved so much on the European stage that it’s outpacing our own improvements. Any future success will largely depend on the development of our young defenders and goalkeepers. At the moment, I don’t see a legit successor to Schick in the pipeline, nor do we have any midfielders likely to reach the level of Soucek anytime soon. I’m not saying we have to become a boring defensive team, but we do need to starting building around those talented positions. If we can’t improve our defensive record and consistently keep clean sheets, we can forget about qualifying for the World Cup. Admittedly, we were by far our best defensively under Bilek in the post-Bruckner era.
Sparta reportedly rejected an 18 Million offer for Vitik, not sure if they are trying to really keep him against such offers or stall until they are officially in the group stages later today.
The same way Plzen have basically surrendered any chance at the title by selling Hranac, Sparta would really decimate their own odds if Vitik left this window. They’re just so vulnerable defensively that I’m not sure it’s even worth selling him for that much. I do think he’s ready to play abroad, but I’m naturally cautious given the history of young Czechs stumbling in their move abroad. I think Champions League football with Sparta + growing into a national team starter this fall will further his development and only heighten his price.
Kuchta leaves Sparta as expected to join Danish champions Midtjylland. The fee is actually considerably lower than expected at €2.7 million apparently. While it’s arguably a step down, Midtjylland are still a renowned club in Europe and would’ve been in the Champions League if not for a late collapse against Slovan Bratislava. Still better than going overseas to MLS which was the developing rumour for a while.
Fine club but it's a step back anyway you spin it. That said Kuchta has started this season looking disinterested, so maybe he just needed a change.
Hlozek, Cvancara and Soucek all scored last weekend, which was good since overall our players abroad in the top leagues have not had great starts to the season overall. Doesn't help that a lot of them are playing for Hoffenheim who have clearly regressed.
Krejci has not looked up to the level at Girona so far.... well really Girona doesn't look up to the level of last seasons Girona so far and he certainly hasn't helped with that. More or less the same story with Hranac and Hoffenheim.
To be fair to Hranac, he’s been unfairly made a scapegoat by a desperate manager on the hot seat that’s clearly lost the plot and is looking to deflect blame. He did look shaky, but Hoffenheim are in complete disarray all around that nobody looks good defensively right now. Krejci had that one great tackle against Dembele at PSG which I thought inflated his rating in that game. He was generally fine, but there were moments where he was subtly exposed. Even before the transfer, I felt that he needed to develop as a full time defender in a back four. He’s still young enough to improve as a defender, but at this level he needs to make those adjustments quickly.
Hlozek netted both of Hoffenheim's goals against Dynamo Kyiv today, seems he's steadily finding his confidence despite being on a not very good team.
Kinsky joins Tottenham in one of the more shocking transfers that I can remember, and I mean that in a positive way. A potential generational talent that was only playing for Pardubice last season and is now likely set to start for a renowned Premier League club. There’s a good chance this wouldn’t have even happened if Stanek never got injured at the Euros. Similarly, a goalie injury at Tottenham has opened this next door for Kinsky. The goalkeeping gene runs in the family as a faintly remember his father being back up to Petr Cech at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup I think. What a great story if he does reach that elite level.
Taking a big swing, but seems like the timing is worth the chance. Not like he won't still have some decent loan options if he fails to take the #1 permanently while Vicario is injured.
It’s mind blowing how many prospects we have in the pipeline. We might have to pioneer the multiple goalie formation in the future. Kinsky (Tottenham) Kovar (Leverkusen) Jaros (Liverpool) Hornicek (Braga) Vitek (Man United)* Baier (Plzen) Vitek is on loan in Austria right now while I included Baier since he’s probably the best domestic talent and was linked to Bayern’s academy at one point. If only we had this kind of promise across outfield positions..