Marco Silva sold Nikola Vlasic to Russian giants CSKA Moscow for £14m but how much is Everton’s Premier League reject worth now?
If Everton could turn back the clock, you’d think they would have second thoughts about cashing in on Nikola Vlasic last summer.
While Gylfi Sigurdsson continues to look more and more like a £4.5 million player rather than a £45 million one, a dynamic young midfielder the Toffees sold in July is enjoying the best season of his career.
In all competitions, Vlasic has produced eight goals and six assists, shining at CSKA Moscow while establishing himself as a key part of the Croatia set-up ahead of Euro 2020.
“I have made progress in every department. You want the speed, the power, the explosiveness, the technique, the tactics, the understanding of the football game … I have gone up and up. My goal is to get better every day,” the Croatia international told Sportske Novosti recently.
Only two players in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad – Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin – have more than three goals to their name all season, with Sigurdsson notching just twice from the attacking midfield role.
So the decision to let Vlasic walk out the door, after just a handful of Premier League starts at Goodison Park, continues to look more baffling with every month that goes by.
The 22-year-old is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, creative midfielder who Ancelotti appreciates, and the veteran Italian won’t be thanking his predecessor Marco Silva for flogging a man who, you’d imagine, is worth far more than £14 million these days.
Then again, perhaps Everton, and Silva, should have seen this coming. Vlasic impressed on loan at CSKA in 2018/19, shining as the Russian giants beat Real Madrid home and away in the Champions League group-stages including a 3-0 win at the Santiago Bernabau.
Why Everton ignored all the signs and let Vlasic go remains a mystery that even Sherlock Holmes would struggle to solve.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
