Tomáš Holý (; born 10 December 1991) is ášHolýa Czech professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Carlisle United.
Holý started his professional career at Sparta Prague, having previously being part of the Hradec Králové youth system. He featured for Sparta Prague's reserve team Sparta Prague B during the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. During his time with Sparta Prague, he spent time out on loan at Vlašim, Viktoria Žižkov and Fastav Zlín. In January 2016, Holý moved to English football to join Gillingham. He spent two-and-a-half seasons at Gillingham, making over 100 appearances before joining Ipswich Town on a free transfer in June 2019. He was the club's first-choice goalkeeper for most of his first two seasons at the club, but was dropped for the 2021–22 campaign and instead spent time on loan at Cambridge United and Port Vale. He joined Carlisle United on a free transfer in June 2022 and helped the club to win the EFL League Two play-offs in 2023.
He has won youth level caps for the Czech Republic at U16, U17 and U18 levels.
Club career
Sparta Prague
Born in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Czechoslovakia, Holý signed for Czech side Sparta Prague in 2010, at the age of eighteen, having previously been with Hradec Králové since the age of fourteen. He made his career league debut for Sparta Prague B on 11 June 2011 in a Czech 2. Liga 2–1 home loss against FK Varnsdorf. He made 11 appearances during the 2011–12 season.
Holý joined Vlašim on loan in July 2013, with head coach Michal Horňák needing a replacement for the departing Michal Toma, whose excellent performances had helped to the keep the club from being relegated out of the Czech Národní Liga the previous season. He played nine Czech Národní Liga matches in the 2013–14 season before he was loaned out to divisional rivals Viktoria Žižkov. Speaking in June 2014, Viktoria Žižkov head coach Jindřich Trpišovský said that he was pleased with Holý's performances until he was sidelined with injury, which left David Pokorný to take over for the rest of the campaign. Holý returned to Žižkov for the 2014–15 season, featuring in another 28 games as Viktoria posted a fourth-place finish.
Holý joined Fastav Zlín on loan in July 2015. He made his debut for Zlín in the Czech First League – the top level of the Czech football league system – in a 1–0 win at Bohemians 1905 on 26 July, in what was a quiet game for the goalkeeper. He kept clean sheets in his next two appearances, though the 2–0 home win over Baník Ostrava proved a lot more eventful as visiting fans rushed the field at the Letná Stadion to attack Holý with improvised weaponry; Ostrava coach Radomír Korytář blamed Holý for provoking the supporters by colliding with striker Marek Šichor. Zlín head coach Bohumil Páník was forced to play Stanislav Dostál in goal for the matches against Sparta Prague, though Holý joked that he had hoped his parent club would not notice if he played against them as he had not been to the Stadion Letná in two years. Holý would, however, lose his first-team place anyway after conceding two goals from unforced errors in a 4–2 defeat at Viktoria Plzeň on 17 October. He played 20 games in the 2015–16 season, helping Zlín to finish two places above the relegation zone. He was offered a deal to play in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, but instead opted to try and secure a club in England.
Gillingham
Holý signed a two-and-a-half year contract with EFL League One side Gillingham on 20 January 2017. Commenting on the signing, head coach Adrian Pennock said: "He is a good size, a good presence, he kicks it well, handles it well and it is good competition for Stuart Nelson, that’s what we need". Holý had initially been invited to trial with the "Gills" by Pennock's predecessor Justin Edinburgh, but managed to impress Pennock sufficiently to win a contract. He made his debut at Priestfield Stadium on 25 March, in a 1–0 defeat to Peterborough United; Pennock said that his performance showed confidence and that he was blameless for the goal. Holý went on to make six appearances during the second half of the 2016–17 season, and was defended by Pennock after gifting Milton Keynes Dons a winning goal when he missed the ball in an attempted punch.