Czech players to sign on FM23

This post was written by FM Community legend FMRensie and he shares with us some Czech players to sign on FM23. You can find Rensie’s blogs on CoffeehouseFM.com.

I’m sure many of you know the Czech Republic within your Football Manager saves mainly thanks to talented newgens who are in the far future of the game as common as great newgens from Serbia, Croatia, and many more similar countries. But what if you would like to sign some real players from our country? I put together a 5-a-side team with one alternative to every position. 

Goalkeeper(s)

• Top target: Matěj Kovář (AC Sparta Prague – loan from Manchester United)

My main recommendation within the sticks is Matěj Kovář. He is 22 years old at the beginning of the new saves in FM23 and he is loaned to AC Sparta Prague from Manchester United. The loan is just for the 2022/2023 season despite there being rumours (in real life) both clubs negotiated the loan for two years with an option to buy as well. But that’s not in the game. Matěj is from 1.FC Slovácko originally but he moved to Manchester United in 2017 already and he spent a lot of time in England including two loan spells with Swindon and Burton respectively. They were not too successful but by signing Matěj you will get a very talented goalkeeper who was the key player of all youth national teams, and he recently made it to the EURO U21 Championship with the Czech U21 team and the Czech team made it to the final tournament mainly thanks to his perfect saves in a play-off against Iceland. And look at his value (£35k – £100k) at the beginning of the save. That can be a bargain. 

• Alternative: Jindřich Staněk (FC Viktoria Plzeň)

Both these keepers have something in common and that’s AC Sparta Prague. While Kovář is in the club right now, 26-year-old Staněk spent most of his childhood and youth years in Sparta before he moved to Everton in 2013. He didn’t make it here and he never made it to the first team, and he moved back to the Czech Republic after three years. It took him some time before he made it to the top level but I’m sure it was worth it for him. After some years in České Budějovice (both 1st and 2nd tier) and winning promotion with them, he went for a loan and a permanent transfer later to Viktoria Plzeň – one of the top three current teams in the Czech Republic. His saves and very good performances were key for Plzeň during their journey to the Champions League group stage in the summer of 2022, he also made it to the national team and played a couple of games already. In 26 years, he can be your goalkeeper for the whole save. Btw. when he was 12 years old he was a ball boy at the Sparta Prague – Brno match and a cannon thrown by a fan exploded not far from him. I’m sure he will be brave enough to face some top strikers. 

Defender(s)

• Top target: David Jurásek (SK Slavia Praha)

This guy is one of the biggest rockets of recent months in the Czech top tier and he is also a key member of the Czech U21 national team ahead of next year’s EURO final tournament. He’s still only 21 years old and he may get his chance in the senior national team soon. He made it from Prostějov (2nd division) to Slavia Prague within one season as Mladá Boleslav bought him for just £50k and Slavia bought him a half year later for £875k and they sent some players here as a part of the deal too. 

I’m sure he can be developed into one of the best complete wingbacks not only in the Czech league/national team but also in the comparison with players in the same position in near countries. He will be more expensive than both keepers above together but I’m sure it will be worth it from a long-term perspective. 

• Alternative: Karel Pojezný (FC Baník Ostrava)

There are several very talented defenders around the U21/U20/U19 national teams right now in the Czech Republic so it’s easy to select one, mainly as I tend to sign young players and that’s the main reason why most of these players are young ones. I decided on Karel Pojezný in the end. A 20-year-old central defender from FC Baník Ostrava who is originally from Jihlava. He has all the assumptions to become the best Ball Playing Defender in the Czech league if you will spend a lot of time here within the save. He is good as a defender, but he can develop into a defender with a very good build-up phase of the game, and he can be a key player while playing from the back. He also can be a very solid Half Back with some proper care and development. 

Midfielders

• Top targets: Tomáš Holeš (SK Slavia Praha) & Lukáš Kalvach (FC Viktoria Plzeň)

The top targets within midfielders are both players who will strengthen your squad immediately 100%. Tomáš Holeš (29 years old) is one of the most committed players I saw in recent years in our league and the national team as well. He is also a super universal player who can play as CD/DM/CD and his physical attributes including natural fitness and stamina can ensure he will be good enough for your time for some more years. 

The second one is Lukáš Kalvach from Plzeň and he is three years younger than Holeš. He developed into one of the best Czech league midfielders in the box-to-box area and the same as Holeš, he can play as DM or CM. I’m sure he would not have issues playing as Ball Playing Defender. These two are guaranteed quality.

• Alternative: Lukáš Mašek (FK Mladá Boleslav) & Ladislav Krejčí II (AC Sparta Prague)

I would select different players in real life, but this is FM, and I can’t affect the quality of some players. But I decided to select one youngster and one complete midfielder as alternatives to the more experienced players above. Firstly, there is no new Adam Hložek so far in the Czech league so don’t expect a similar “monster” (sorry, Adam) who can play in all midfield and attacking positions and roles.

The first one is Lukáš Mašek from Mladá Boleslav. I’m sure some regular FM players already found him in their saves as he is part of the game database for two or three years already. He is very talented, but his physical attributes are not the best ones in the game. So, that would be my main recommendation – try to develop his physical attributes to allow him to use his potential completely. My secondary recommendation would be to find him some more simple role at the beginning, surely not the box-to-box midfielder for example as it’s demanding a lot. 

The second alternative is Ladislav Krejčí from AC Sparta Prague. The younger one. Don’t confuse him with another Ladislav Krejčí from Sparta (the more experienced WB/ML/AML). The younger Ladislav Krejčí can play CD/DM/CM and he is a cheaper alternative to both Holeš and Kalvach I wrote about above. Ladislav Krejčí is perfect for set pieces, he is perfect as BWM, and he is the perfect leader of the team despite his age (better in real life than in the game considering his Leadership attribute is only 13). 

Striker(s)

• Top target: Jan Kuchta (AC Sparta Prague – loan from Lokomotiv Moscow)

This was probably the hardest selection because of some things – Jan Kuchta is not as good as in the previous season in real life, but he is a fantastic player in the game based on attributes and he is a dream play in my eyes. At least for my style of play as I would use him as Pressing Forward for 20 years if it would be possible. So, the in-game attributes and his in-game skills are the main factors why I selected him as the top target for this list. He is on loan with Sparta Prague as he didn’t want to continue in Lokomotiv Moscow due to a war conflict in Ukraine and the complicated situation in Russia vs. travelling home and playing for the national team etc. There is an optional future fee of £6.5M but I’m not sure if it will be activated in the game or in real life. If Sparta won’t sign him in the game, I’m sure even the loan would be worth it for your club if you will have enough money to pay his wage.

• Alternatives: Tomáš Chorý (FC Viktoria Plzeň)

The main alternative is Tomáš Chorý (hi, @FMStag). It’s not only an alternative in terms of the second option but it’s an alternative mainly because Tomáš is a completely different player in comparison with Jan Kuchta. While Kuchta is a driven and tireless player, Tomáš Chorý is the typical tower. He is THAT target you want to hit because you know he will score. He went to Viktoria Plzeň from another Czech side Sigma Olomouc, and he also spent some time with Zulte Waregem in Belgium, but he found his form in Plzeň recently again and he is a key player in this club. He is the best Target Forward you can find in the Czech league right now and if you will combine him with some quality Advanced Forward/Pressing Forward, you can get an unstoppable forward duo. And imagine the set pieces with Chorý as the main target…

I don’t even speak about his possible transfer fee as his value is between £35K – £350K.

Some amazing recommendations here by FMRensie. Czech Republic has always been a hotbed for FM talent hopefully you can sign a few of these in your FM23 save.