Nikola Vlasic admits he has been ‘struggling’ since joining West Ham United in the summer, but has told the Evening Standard he expects his performances will be better after scoring.
David Moyes paid CSKA Moscow £27m to bring Vlasic back to the Premier League in August on a five-year contract. The Irons’ Deadline Day deal for the 24-year-old can rise by another £7.5m if he achieves all add-on clauses, too.
Vlasic previously spent two-years at Everton from 2017 to 2019, but only spent a season on Merseyside. The Blues brought the Croatian to England from his boyhood club Hajduk Split for £10m. They then sold him to CSKA for £14m following a successful year-long loan spell.
Moyes acquired Vlasic to replace the goals and assists that Jesse Lingard offered during his loan from Manchester United. But the West Ham boss has struggled to unearth the same output from the Split-native while he settles into life in east London and the Scot’s system.
Vlasic gives honest verdict on West Ham form since Deadline Day deal
Vlasic made his 16th appearance for West Ham across all competitions as the Irons won at Watford on Tuesday. He also scored their last goal at Vicarage Road for his first in claret-and-blue, pairing with two assists. He created once in the Europa League and EFL Cup.
The 33-cap maestro’s output is not where he has wanted it to be since returning to England in August. But Vlasic expects his West Ham form will improve after scoring against Watford.
“It is an unbelievable feeling, a relief after three-months of struggling,” Vlasic said. “The first one is always the hardest, so I think everything will be smoother now.
“It’s hard, it is always hardest to get the first, and when you are playing 10-15 minutes in games, there is not too much time. But it goes down as one, two games more and then it is 13, 14 games without a goal, so it is a pressure on you.
“When you score everything is easier, so I think everything will be much better now.”
Lingard had set an almost impossible marker for Vlasic to try and match in his first months at West Ham. The Manchester United midfielder scored nine and assisted five goals in 16 Premier League games in claret-and-blue.
However, the England maestro had vast previous experiences to fall back on after joining Moyes at the London Stadium. Vlasic, on the other hand, only played 574-minutes over 12 Premier League games for Everton. Five of his appearances were also off the bench.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
