Sparta Prague strengthen squad with two new signings — Norwegian Guddal and a midfielder from Mladá Boleslav

Prague's Sparta have announced the signing of two players at once — Norwegian defender Tobias Guddal and Czech midfielder Roman Mácek, who has joined from local rivals Mladá Boleslav.

The towering Guddal was still turning out for Hradec Králové as recently as Thursday evening, playing in their 1:3 defeat in the second-leg Europa League qualifier, yet by the very next day he was already posing in Sparta's red-and-white kit.

"We've been watching Tobias for a long time, and we believe his style of play fits the football we want to show. We're getting an ambitious, hard-working player with plenty of experience," Sparta's sporting director Tomáš Rosický told the club's official website.

According to Rosický, the Norwegian has been improving season by season, yet still has considerable room to grow. "He has excellent physical attributes, he's strong in duels for the ball, he's ready to take responsibility when building play, and he knows how to break through opposition pressing. We're delighted he's tied his future to Sparta, despite interest from clubs in Europe's top five leagues," Rosický added.

Guddal adds to what was already a sizeable Norwegian contingent in the Prague club's dressing room. According to sources, Sparta will pay €4.5 million excluding bonuses for the transfer.

A far more modest and unexpected addition is Roman Mácek, who arrives in the capital from Mladá Boleslav. "Roman is an intelligent central midfielder with good technical grounding and composure on the ball. He keeps a cool head under pressure and takes responsibility for holding down the middle of the pitch. This signing is our response to injuries to two of our holding midfielders. We're getting a player who understands Czech football but also brings plenty of experience abroad. Given his age and maturity, we expect him to help the team on the pitch right away," Rosický explained.

Reports suggest Mácek's transfer fee came to around 15 million korunas. Neither new arrival was included in the squad for Friday's league fixture against Zlín, played ahead of schedule. Both, however, could be available to coach Priske as early as Tuesday, for the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round against Lyon.

Source: sport.cz