As soon as Everton supporters saw the name Nikola Vlasic on the team sheet they would have been fearing the worst.
And, inevitably, it was Vlasic who set Croatia on their way to the last 16 in style, opening the scoring during his nation’s crucial 3-1 victory over Scotland in their do-or-die clash in the Euro 2020 group stages last night.
Brilliantly controlling an Ivan Perisic knock-down, Everton’s ‘one-that-got-away’ fired a clinical volley into the bottom corner with just 17 minutes on the clock.
And while he may have been overshadowed by the masterful Luka Modric – Patrik Schick’s grip on the goal of the tournament trophy is loosening – Vlasic’s match-changing contribution on the biggest of stages had many on Merseyside wondering the same thing.
“Did we make a mistake letting Vlasic go?”
Unfortunately, the answer to that particular question appears to be a definitive “yes”.
What went wrong for Vlasic at Everton?
A victim of the constant churn that epitomised the early Farhad Moshiri years at Goodison Park, Vlasic was signed by Ronald Koeman, ignored by Sam Allardyce and bombed out by Marco Silva – all in the space of 12 months.
And since joining CSKA Moscow on a £14 million deal, the former Hajduk Split talent has blossomed into exactly the kind of forceful attacking midfielder Everton have been crying out for since a young Ross Barkley was strutting his stuff under Roberto Martinez all those years ago.
That well-taken goal at Hampden Park was Vlasic’s 15th goal for club and country since August 2020 – far more than Gylfi Sigurdsson, Alex Iwobi, James Rodriguez and co have managed in the same time-frame.
And while Vlasic’s agent has refused to rule out a potential return to Everton one day, the sale of one of Europe’s most exciting young playmakers looks more foolish now than ever.
Here’s what some Everton supporters on Twitter had to say about the Vlasic situation:
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