Everton winger Nikola Vlasic is on the fringes at Goodison Park.
Whilst Everton beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon, fans are still left with reservations over manager Sam Allardyce and his approach both on and off the field.
Goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson, Oumar Niasse and Tom Davies handed Everton a win, but the brand of football under Allardyce has left fans frustrated, as has his treatment of certain players.
January signing Cenk Tosun has been limited in terms of playing time as Allardyce questions his immediate suitability for Premier League football, whilst Sandro Ramirez and Ademola Lookman were farmed out on loan in January rather than being given playing time.
Davy Klaassen hasn’t played in the Premier League since September, and winger Nikola Vlasic is now in danger of becoming Everton’s latest forgotten man under Allardyce.
Vlasic, 20, was snapped up from Hajduk Split for £10million back in August (BBC Sport), and had shown promise under Ronald Koeman, providing pace and direction out wide.
However, the Croatian talent has played just twice in the Premier League in 2018, and hasn’t been seen since the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion on the 20th of January, with fans wondering just where the winger is.
Being out of all cup competitions isn’t helping Vlasic’s quest for first-team football, but Allardyce cannot allow another one of Everton’s recent signings – with youth and potential – to fall by the wayside and become an afterthought.
If Allardyce fails to give Vlasic considerable playing time between now and the end of the season, majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri must look at how the Everton boss is wasting talent, and potentially look to move on from Big Sam already, for the sake of Moshiri’s investments and the future of Everton’s young talents.
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