By Joe Ellis

17th Nov, 2022 | 6:10pm

West Ham United cannot pay Nikola Vlasic transfer fee due to Russia restrictions

West Ham United are set to make a big loss on Nikola Vlasic as they have been ordered to pay his transfer fee, according to Claret and Hugh.

The Croatian international has enjoyed a very good season on loan at Serie A side Torino and the Italian outfit have the option to buy him permanently in the transfer window.

President Urbano Cairo has not yet made a decision on the 25-year-old, who is now preparing for the World Cup with his Croatian teammates, but the Hammers will make a big loss regardless.

Torino will only have to pay £13million to sign Vlasic permanently if they do which is far less than the £27million that West Ham are set to be ordered to pay CSKA Moscow.

They had structured a deal with the Russian side in the summer of 2021 to sign him but before they could pay the full amount, Russia invaded Ukraine and restrictions quickly came crashing down, preventing the rest of the transfer fee being paid.

Waste

Whoever sanctioned the purchase of Vlasic had better have been sacked by now because that might be the biggest waste of money the club have made in years.

To make matters even worse, he has gone from £27million to £13million in just over one year which is an appalling loss in value in an incredibly short space of time.

David Moyes perhaps could have given him more chances to prove himself at the London Stadium but football is a cut-throat world and if you don’t shine from the start your time is always limited.

There has to be a review of the club’s recruitment as soon as possible and a World Cup break provides the perfect chance to do that because the club can’t keep throwing money down the drain on any old player.

There could be further losses with the most recent crop of recruits if the poor form continues after the break concludes and that could spell disaster for the Hammers.