West Ham United have announced on their official website the signing of Nikola Vlasic from CSKA Moscow for an undisclosed fee this summer. It has been mentioned that the Croat attacker has penned a five-year deal with the Hammers, which will keep him at the London Stadium until the summer of 2026.
Vlasic’s Outstanding Season At Moscow
Vlasic managed to catch the eye with a lot of his performances for the Moscow-based outfit in the Russian Premier League last season. The 23-year-old featured in 34 matches for the Russian giants in the previous campaign, finding the back of the net on 12 occasions and earning six assists across all competitions.
The Croat sensation enjoyed his football at Arena CSKA and deserves a ton of credit for averaging 4.0 shots, 2.8 key passes and 1.7 dribbles per game in the Russian top-flight. He was even accurate when distributing the ball in the final third after completing 80.9% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via whoscored).
This season, Vlasic’s goal-scoring ability and creative nature would undoubtedly make him a key asset in David Moyes’ squad. At 23, he will only get better with each season, making him a decent, long-term signing for the Hammers.
West Ham Announce Vlasic’s Signing: Good Move For Moyes?
Vlasic has the vision to pick out a decisive pass in the attacking third of the field and make a few intelligent runs towards the opponent’s penalty box. He is primarily an attacking midfielder but is also versatile enough to fill in as a winger on either flank if required. The Croatia international has a good football IQ and excels at testing the opposition keeper by getting some shots in on-target. He chipped in by netting and setting up plenty of goals at Moscow last season.
Now that Moyes has successfully acquired his services, he would hope that Vlasic can bring his good form to the Premier League and be an important member of his match-day squad this season. The Croat playmaker will definitely offer some healthy competition for Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals for the right to start in the number ten position in West Ham’s first team.
Vlasic has what it takes to be a real fan-favourite at the London Stadium as long as he can cope with the physical nature and high intensity of English football. With all things considered, it seems like the Split-born talent’s deadline day acquisition could prove to be a shrewd move for the London outfit in the long run.
