In a recent report, The Daily Mail mentioned that West Ham United have begun talks to land CSKA Moscow playmaker Nikola Vlasic this summer. It is believed that the Hammers have identified the Croat attacker as a potential option if they fail to land Jesse Lingard from Manchester United before the transfer deadline on August 31st.
Vlasic’s Decent Form In Russian Football Last Season
Vlasic had an impressive campaign with the Russian outfit recently as he produced a run of eye-catching displays as the chief playmaker of their attack. The 23-year-old registered 12 goals and grabbed six assists in 34 matches for his current club last season in all competitions.
The Split-born talent was a consistent performer for the Moscow-based outfit after he averaged 4.0 shots, 2.8 key passes and 1.7 dribbles per game in the Russian Premier League. He even distributed possession accurately from midfield based on his pass completion rate of 80.9% in the Russian top tier (stats via whoscored).
Vlasic has done well to take a few strides towards improving his overall game and could be a shrewd option for the Hammers to pursue in the final few days of this summer transfer window. At 23, he is in for a very bright future in European football as long as he continues to work hard towards getting better on the training field.
What Will Vlasic Bring To The London Stadium?
Vlasic has decent pace in his locker and can make some eye-catching dashes in the opposition half. He excels at generating a yard of space for himself and can often test the opposition keeper with his shot attempts. The 26-time Croatia international has scored and created his fair share of goals in the final third. Hence, he is now well-equipped to take on the challenge of proving his worth in the Premier League where he once failed to impress during his time with Everton.
West Ham are in dire need to add more firepower to their attack as Michail Antonio remains the only recognized senior forward at the club. Even though Vlasic is not a centre-forward, yet he has got the ability to play as a false nine striker in David Moyes’ first-team in the coming seasons.
More importantly, we can expect Vlasic to bring plenty of goals and creativity to the Hammers’ frontline. Furthermore, the Croat sensation could go on to form a killer attacking partnership with Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals over the course of this campaign.
