German club Hoffenheim announced today, Tuesday, the signing of Czech player Vladimir Koval to strengthen the team's ranks for the 2025/2026 season, in a free transfer from English club West Ham United.

The signing of Koval comes after the serious injury suffered by defender Valentin Gendre, which will keep him out of the team for a long time. The club's sporting director, Andreas Schicker, stated: "We had to act quickly to strengthen the right-back position, and Vladimir has the experience and quality needed to fill this gap immediately."

For his part, Koval expressed his happiness at joining Hoffenheim, confirming that the discussions with the club's management were excellent, and that he is looking forward to a new challenge in the German league after his years in the Premier League.

Koval has played 180 official matches with West Ham since joining in October 2020, during which he provided 20 assists. He has also won three titles with Slavia Prague and participated in 55 international matches with the Czech national team, scoring one goal and assisting another 12.