Alex Kral in West Ham talks after Nikola Vlasic signs five-year deal

West Ham have signed Czech Republic midfielder Alex Kral from Spartak Moscow on a season-long loan with an option to buy.

Kral, 23, joins fellow Czechs Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal at West Ham.

Croatia midfielder Nikola Vlasic has also joined West Ham, from CSKA Moscow on a five-year deal for 30m euros (£26.8m), plus 9m euros in add-ons.

“Alex will provide good competition in the centre of midfield,” manager David Moyes said on the club’s website.

“He is another young, talented player who we feel has a big potential and will be capable of adapting to the demands of the Premier League.

“We’ve brought him in on loan initially and, hopefully, over the course of the season he will make a valuable contribution, particularly with our busier schedule of fixtures.

“Alex is another established international player with the Czech Republic, and we hope he has similar characteristics and hunger to that of Tomas and Vladimir.”

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Vlasic, 23, has made 26 appearances for Croatia, four of which came at Euro 2020, including as a substitute against England at Wembley.

He moved to Everton in August 2017 for £10m and made 19 appearances before joining CSKA in the summer of 2019.

The deal for Vlasic may end West Ham’s hopes of bringing Jesse Lingard back to the club from Manchester United.

Lingard, having fallen out of favour at Old Trafford, scored nine goals in 16 games after joining West Ham on loan in January.

Vlasic has played more than 250 senior matches in a career which began at Hajduk Split.

He scored 33 goals and assisted 21 for CSKA across the past two seasons and was named Russian Premier League Footballer of the Year in 2020.

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