Vlasic deserved a bigger club than West Ham

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has not made himself popular with Hammers fans by suggesting Nikola Vlasic deserved a bigger club than West Ham.

Speaking to Croatia Week Dalic said: “The problem is the stories about transfers, I think it really interferes. These transfers disrupt your concentration, I still hope that everyone will be ready for the game.If the player’s concentration is not at the maximum level we will have problems. It seems that Nikola Vlasic has solved his problem as he is on his way from Moscow to London.

“I can’t interfere much in that [the transfer] and Nikola knows what’s best for him, but I think he deserved a bigger club than West Ham. Nikola will, I believe, make an even better transfer in the coming years.”

Vlasic completed his transfer last night which was announced this morning without visiting London as he remains on International duty with Croatia. He signed a five year contract  on around £66,000 per week with the Hammers paying almost £26m transfer fee with £7m of potential add-ons.

Everton will receive 15 per cent of the profit made on Dalic who they sold for £14m in 2019. They could be due around £2m, from the initial fee with another £1m on potential add-ons.

Vlasic will be registered with the Premier League before the Southampton away game and will be available for selection for David Moyes should he decide he can make an immediate impact.

The talented 23-year-old arrives from Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow.

A teenage prodigy with Hajduk Split, Vlašić has already played more 250 senior matches, scored 33 goals and assisted 21 more for CSKA over the previous three seasons, and was named Russian Premier League Footballer of the Year in 2020. A regular for Croatia, he has 26 senior caps and featured four times  at the recent UEFA Euro 2020 finals, and will now continue his career at London Stadium after representing his country during the current international break.