Sunderland and 4 more Premier League rivals eye Leeds United-linked defender - official decision confirmed

Leeds United have now been joined by five future Premier League rivals in eyeing a potential move for West Ham summer exit Vladimir Coufal, according to reports.

Coufal will become a free agent when his Hammers contract expires on June 30, with the London club this week officially confirming their decision to release the 32-year-old alongside Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Danny Ings and Kurt Zouma. TalkSPORT initially claimed Leeds were ‘tracking’ the experienced right-back, who is desperate to stay in the UK as his son recently joined West Ham’s academy setup.

Daniel Farke is thought to be keen on adding Premier League experience to his squad this summer, which Coufal certainly provides, but it appears he is not the only one. Fresh interest in the Czech Republic international has emerged, with Football Insider naming five of Leeds’ 2025/26 top-flight rivals as possible destinations for the free agent.

Sunderland and Burnley are also in need of top-flight know-how, having joined Leeds in coming up from the Championship last season, while more established trio Wolves, Fulham and Everton are also thought to be eyeing a possible move for the West Ham exit. David Moyes is currently planning for a busy summer in charge of the latter and coached Coufal at the London Stadium, winning the 2023 Europa Conference League.

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Wolves, meanwhile, are expected to lose their own first-choice right-back Nelson Semedo for free once his contract expires this month, leaving them with a starting line-up gap to fill. Fulham are believed to have lodged several bids to try and sign Coufal in January and are expected to reignite interest.

What’s the latest on Leeds United’s defender situation?

Leeds have a starting right-back in Jayden Bogle, who earned another shot at the Premier League with an outstanding debut Elland Road campaign following his £5million move from Sheffield United. As such, any potential move for Coufal would likely see the vastly experienced defender arrive as cover, with current back-up Sam Byram set to leave at the end of this month - albeit the club confirmed talks are ongoing.

Isaac Schmidt is also able to offer cover at right-back but Farke used the £2.5m summer 2024 signing sparingly during last season’s Championship title win, with experience needed. It remains to be seen whether they will actively pursue a move for free agent Coufal but with 147 Premier League games under his belt, the Hammers exit would certainly provide that at a cut price.

Coufal also has 55 international caps and European experience, but he struggled for regular starts at West Ham last season following the £15m signing of Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United. All in all, the former Slavia Prague man started just 11 Premier League games, with a further 11 appearances coming from the bench.

The transfer window has now closed for a brief period until June 16, albeit Leeds could theoretically announce the signing of a free agent like Coufal in between. He wouldn’t officially join until his West Ham contract expires on June 30, however.

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