Oh, how things could have been.
Back in August, just a few weeks before the Premier League season began, Slaven Bilic set pulses racing in West Bromwich when unveiling his ambitious transfer plans.
Who knows, if the Baggies had backed their boss in the market, maybe they wouldn’t be preparing for an immediate return to the Championship just six months later.
Speaking to IndexHR in his homeland, Bilic went public with his desire to bring two Croatia internationals to The Hawthorns.
One of those was Nikola Vlasic, the one-time Everton youngster who has blossomed into arguably the finest footballer in Russia during his time at CSKA Moscow. T
The other, meanwhile, is now the talk of the continent, showing West Brom what they are missing with one of the most iconic hat-tricks in Europa League history.
According to Sportske Novosti, the Baggies made two bids for Mislav Orsic last year – the biggest standing at £8.5 million. But, when Dinamo Zagreb asked for a few million more for their fleet-footed forward, West Brom obviously felt their money would be better spent elsewhere.
“There were some stories but, in the end, there was no agreement (with West Brom),” Orsic told VL.
In the space of 44 minutes on Thursday night, Orsic scored more goals than Grady Diangana and Karlan Grant (the two summer signings who arrived for a combined £34 million) have managed between them all season.
The winger’s stunning hat-trick knocked Tottenham out of the Europa League, his wondrous individual effort in extra time earning him a place in Zagreb folklore while taking his individual tally to 19 for the campaign.
What could have been, indeed…
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