‘It was difficult’ – Vlasic opens up on why he flopped at Everton
Former Everton attacking midfielder Nikola Vlasic has cited his inexperience and young age as factors behind his limited game time at Goodison Park.
The Croatia international joined Everton from Hajduk Split in the summer of 2017 and was used in a bit-part role during his debut Premier League campaign, making 12 appearances in the league without a goal.
Vlasic was then quickly shipped out on loan to CSKA Moscow the following summer where he’d go on to score eight times in all competitions for the Russian outfit.
The 23-year old then joined the Russian Premier League side on a permanent deal ahead of the 2019/20 season, scoring 12 goals in the league, and he has continued that form into the current campaign with a further eight strikes to his name.
Talking to Marca, Vlasic explained that his inexperience made it difficult for him to succeed on Merseyside. He said:
“I was at Everton for a year, and it was difficult because of my youth.
“In England, if you’re only worth 10 million pounds, as I was, it’s not much of a problem to leave you on the bench.
“I needed opportunities… and CSKA in the Russian league came up.”
What could have been
Though Vlasic failed to score for Everton in the Premier League the young playmaker always looked like a promising player in his cameo appearances on Merseyside.
It’s a shame that the Croatian sought an immediate exit from the club following the expiry of his loan deal in order to maintain a regular playing role elsewhere.
Ademola Lookman was very much the same – both were players who were buoyed by impressive loan spells away from Everton, and neither were willing to return and give the club a second chance.
Everton have sought to rectify their creativity issues this season through the signing of James Rodriguez, but someone of Vlasic’s ilk could have been a valuable player to inject a spark of creativity into our attack.
Unfortunately both Everton, and in some ways Vlasic as well, will be left wondering what could have been if the international had only returned to Goodison Park.
In other Everton news, Sam Allardyce explains that he would have taken Everton into the top four if he had more time in the Goodison Park hotseat.