Credit: Imago

Daniel Davis

Thu 26 March 2026 18:10, UK

West Ham United will be kicking themselves after Nikola Vlasic caught the eye of a European giant.

According to Tuttosport, Borussia Dortmund are eyeing up a swoop for the midfielder this summer, just three years after the Hammers shipped him out following a torrid stint.

Now at Torino, Vlasic looks like a different player. He moved to the Serie A club in August 2023 for around £8million, significantly less than the £25m the Irons splashed out on him.

He has just one year remaining on his contract at the Stadio Olimpico, however, and Dortmund, sensing an opportunity, are said to have begun internal discussions over the deal.

Vlasic is easily one of West Ham’s worst-ever transfers, but it didn’t have to be that way.

Why was Nikola Vlasic so poor at West Ham?

The now 28-year-old scored just one goal and registered two assists at the London Stadium, and made only 31 appearances before the club drastically decided to cut their losses.

West Ham were confident their decision to sell Vlasic was justified, but it can be argued that the club had set him up for failure despite his largely disappointing statistics in East London.

Indeed, David Moyes should shoulder much of the blame.

That is because the Scot predominantly used Vlasic on the left flank, away from his preferred role in the No 10 slot, which rendered him ineffective.

It is no surprise that after reverting to the central position at Torino, he has breathed new life into his career, scoring 21 goals and registering 19 assists in 135 appearances.

This season alone, he has netted eight times from 33 matches and chalked up five assists, according to Sofascore. Vlasic has also made 51 key passes and 29 successful dribbles.

In addition, his passing accuracy of 83.5 per cent has been crucial in deciding tight matches, while his 32.6 per cent crossing accuracy is reasonable considering his central role.

Clearly, West Ham did not do their research after snapping him up for CSKA Moscow, where he also relished his playmaker responsibilities and netted 33 times in 108 matches.

Roma have been tipped to move for Vlasic at the end of the season, too, but whoever does snap him up would do well to learn from the Irons’ glaring failings.

West Ham still owe money for Vlasic

Curiously, West Ham still haven’t been able to pay off the entire transfer fee for Vlasic.

They owe CSKA Moscow around £7.2million for the unpaid second installment agreed in the deal back in 2021, but are unable to complete the transaction.

That is because UK government sanctions on Russian entities imposed after the war in Ukraine began make it legally impossible for the Irons to send the money to the club.

Regardless, FIFA ordered West Ham to pay up or face a transfer ban, but the Irons appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and won by a 2-1 majority.

As a result, there is an indefinite delay over the payment.