West Ham United transfer exit justified as Nikola Vlasic now ‘falling sharply’
West Ham went through a decent amount of turnover this summer as they attempted to rebuild their squad following Declan Rice’s departure to Arsenal.
On top of their captain’s sale, Gianluca Scamacca ended his year-long stay in England by joining Atlanta, but in a less high-profile move, Nikola Vlasic made the permanent switch to Serie A as well, joining Torino having spent the previous season on loan with the Italian side.
The 25-year-old had joined the Hammers in 2021 for £26.8 million (BBC Sport) but flopped in East London scoring only once in claret and blue and having returned to Italy for £10.4million (Football Italia) he has seemingly struggled to settle once again.
Italian website Tutto Mercato (26 September) slammed the Croatian international’s performances so far, writing: “His second adventure, this time outright for a dozen million euros from West Ham, practically stopped at the new debut.
“It was no longer the pit bull who last year had often and willingly dragged Torino, on the one hand with the attitude and with his leadership, on the other with the numbers that recited five goals and eight assists. Now, after five matches, his input in the goal zone remains at zero, with performances falling sharply.”
Few were pining for Moyes to keep Vlasic at the club this summer and most West Ham fans were happy to see the back of one of their biggest duds in recent seasons but the early signs suggest the Irons were rather fortunate to earn the sort of fee they ultimately did for the 25-year-old.
There is an expectation the attacking midfielder will be allowed to turn his form around in Italy, rather than be left to fester on the substitute’s bench however, it is safe to say the Hammers did the right thing by allowing him to leave the London Stadium permanently.
Moyes’ team may have had a dip in their recent form as well, tasting back-to-back defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League, yet there is optimism amongst supporters as they eagerly await Mohammeed Kudus’ first league start.
In the 90 minutes he played for West Ham in the Europa League, he had a greater impact than Vlasic managed in two years with the Irons. You really cannot fault the work that Moyes and his side did throughout the transfer window, both in and out of the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, one journalist has labelled it a classic David Moyes’ decision to start Kudus from the bench against Liverpool