Will we see a Czech goalkeeper in the Premier League? Ipswich in the second league is also thanks to Hladky

Tomas Vaclik fought with Huddersfield last year to save the Championship, while Vaclav Hladky is on the other side of the table this year with newcomer Ipswich Town. Surprisingly, his team leaves behind opponents with expensive squads.

Václav Hladký has been at Ipswich since the summer of 2021. He was a number two until the start of this season, and last season he played only seven minutes in the penultimate round of League One when they were promoted to the Championship.

But in the summer, his biggest rival Christian Walton was injured and Hladky finally got his chance. Fans didn’t have much faith in him, but he’s done surprisingly well. He has kept four clean sheets in nine rounds, the most along with Leeds’ Ilian Meslier.

The question is what will happen when Walton returns from injury. The former England under-21 international had a solid position, but Hladky is not worried.

“Obviously I want to play and at the moment I think I deserve to keep playing,” he told BBC Radio Suffolk in an interview.

Hladky’s confidence in goal also carries over to the team’s results. Nine rounds means only a fifth of the competition, but the League Two newcomer is in second position, and if he beats Hull at home on Tuesday night he can go top of the table for at least a day.

Ipswich’s fairytale story is symbolised not only by the fact that they were promoted last year, but also by the market value of the squad. The roster is valued at €32.18m according to Transfermarkt, making it the fifth cheapest team in the competition.

The three relegated teams from the Premier League (Southampton, Leicester, Leeds) have identical rosters costing more than 200 million euros, yet Hladky still believes in a chance of promotion. “We never give up and always believe we can score,” Hladky said.

Source: BBC Radio Suffolk