Nikola Vlasic is struggling at Premier League giants West Ham United but a return to Russia and CSKA Moscow is ‘not an option’, the midfielder’s agent tells Sport24.
Things were supposed this time around.
When Everton signed Vlasic from Hajduk Split in 2017, he arrived as a fresh-faced teenager still learning his trade. Four years later, Vlasic was returning to English football with a point to prove.
But, thus far, things haven’t been much better for Vlasic at West Ham than they were at Everton.
He’s managed just one goal and two assists in 25 outings. What’s more, Moyes has handed him less than half-an-hour of game time across West Ham’s last five Premier League fixtures.
But, according to Vlasic’s agent Tonci Martic, there are currently no plans for a return to Russian soil, rubbishing reports of a move that would have been made all the more complex by the current Ukraine situation.
Can Nikola Vlasic save his West Ham career?
“Can Nikola return to CSKA in the summer? This is not an option at the moment,” Martic explains.
All is not lost for Vlasic at West Ham of course.
It’s worth pointing out that Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma both struggled for form during their debut seasons in claret-and-blue. But, as time has gone on, they’ve gone from frustrating fringe players to key cogs in the Moyes machine.
Who’s to say Vlasic won’t do the same in 2022/23?
It seems highly unlikely that Alex Kral will follow in Benrahma’s footsteps any time soon, however. Another player who arrived at West Ham from Russia – he’s on loan from Spartak Moscow – Kral has played just one minute of top-flight football, his time in England summed up by a poor performance against non-league Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup.
Kral has already confirmed he could return to Spartak in the summer.
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