Matěj Vydra

Matěj Vydra (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmacɛj ˈvɪdra], born 1 May 1992) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for Czech First League club Viktoria Plzeň and the Czech Republic national team.

At club level, Vydra previously played for Vysočina Jihlava, Baník Ostrava, Udinese and Club Brugge. He played club football in England for Watford, West Bromwich Albion, Reading, Derby County and Burnley.

Vydra joined Baník Ostrava from Vysočina Jihlava in January 2010 at the age of 17 for 20 million CZK (€765,000). He spent six months at Baník Ostrava, where he scored four goals in 14 matches.

In June 2010, Vydra moved to Serie A side Udinese and was also voted by sports journalists the Czech Revelation of the Year for his performances at Baník Ostrava in the 2009–10 season. He joined Club Brugge on loan in August 2011 but returned to Udinese having played just two games due to an injury.

In July 2012, it was confirmed he had been loaned to Watford for the 2012–13 season. Vydra scored his first goal for Watford when he netted the winner against Crystal Palace on 18 August 2012, in a game which finished 3–2.

He scored a goal against Leeds United on 10 November. Vydra then scored goals in successive matches in a 2–0 win against Nottingham Forest on 22 December 2012 and in a 3–1 away win over Brighton & Hove Albion on 29 December 2012. He scored another brace on 12 January 2013 against Middlesbrough. Vydra carried on his rich vein of form by netting another goal the week after, on 19 January 2013 against Huddersfield and then netted his third goal in as many games a week later, scoring twice on 26 January 2013 in a 3–0 win away to Nottingham Forest. He was in fine form, and netted another goal in his next start against Bolton on 2 February 2013. The match eventually finished 2–1 to Watford, with Vydra assisting Almen Abdi's winning goal. After three matches without a goal, Vydra netted his 20th goal of the campaign in a 2–1 win over Derby County on 23 February 2013.

On 25 March 2013 it was announced that he had won the 2012–13 Championship Player of the Season award in his first season in English football. Vydra won the award ahead of Glenn Murray of Crystal Palace and Blackpool's Thomas Ince. Despite going on a run in which he didn't score in 13 games, he went on to score twice in the semi-final of the end-of-season play-offs in a 3–2 aggregate win over Leicester. Vydra's season at Watford finished in disappointment as his club lost the chance to be promoted to the English top-flight after losing the play-off final against Crystal Palace and he injured his ankle during the match, having to be substituted at half time.

Vydra joined Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan deal on 13 August 2013. He scored his first goal for the club on 21 December 2013, equalising for West Brom in a 1–1 Premier League draw against Hull City. On 22 February 2014, Vydra scored his second goal for West Brom, equalising in a 1–1 draw against Fulham. His third goal for the club came in a 3–3 draw against Tottenham, with Vydra scoring the game's first goal after 28 seconds.