A player West Ham United sold for a cut-price fee of £8 million is now valued in excess of £40 million.
For all players who struggle in the Premier League, who see their value plummet in the most high-profile competition in club football, Nikola Vlasic’s Serie A revival is a fine example to follow.
As much as we all love and admire the work David Moyes did during two spells as West Ham United’s manager, the Scot certainly had a blind spot when it came to fitting technically-gifted, big-money signings into his team.
Why did it go so WRONG for Nikola Vlasic at West Ham? 🇭🇷
He's been excellent in Italy…
Gianluca Scamacca failed to displace Michail Antonio and was sold at a loss.
Pablo Fornals was sidelined for Lucas Paqueta before returning to Spain and playing the best football of his career at Real Betis. In the case of Vlasic, the Hammers spent £25 million on a number ten only to shunt him out wide.
Nikola Vlasic has been reborn at Torino after being wasted at West Ham United
When Vlasic was linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund in the spring, on the back of a fine 2025/26 season at Torino, many Hammers fans laid the blame at David Moyes’ door.
‘Not given a fair chance,’ one of Hammers News’ Talking Point readers said at the time. ‘And, when he was, it was out of position’.
There were, perhaps, shades of his previous and similarly-unsuccessful stint in English football with Everton. Vlasic joined the Toffees in 2017 in the same summer that Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen also arrived. Four number tens battling it out for one place in the Everton XI.
At both CSKA Moscow and current employers Torino, Vlasic has highlighted the folly of both Everton and West Ham. Play him in his favoured, central role and, according to Granata director Gianluca Petrachi, you have a 50 million euro player.
“I also categorically asked Vlasic to stay,” Petrachi told a press conference this week in response to those Dortmund links. “He’s a Toro player. I’m in love with him from a footballing perspective.
“Our intention is to keep him in the squad.
“Of course, if a club with 50 million euros on its plate were to arrive, we’d have to discuss it with the player and his agent. But even the thought of selling him would make me feel bad.”
“Last January, a major request came in. He stayed, and he was great because he understood the moment and left the money they’d promised him. He’s a fantastic guy.”
Can you spot anything interesting as West Ham return for pre-season?
Taty returns, Nuno chats with Bowen, and a couple of youngsters make an appearance
Vlasic promises ‘the best is yet to come’ in Serie A
Vlasic scored eight Serie A goals from his number ten role last term.
In fact, when you look solely at his spells with CSKA and Torino, the Croatia international racked up an impressive 80 goals or assists in 232 league starts.
Maybe that highlights the difference in quality between the Premier League and other, less moneyed competitions. Or maybe it just shows that Vlasic is a top-quality number ten mis-profiled and mis-used by David Moyes.
“I feel great in Italy. I feel at home, the mentality is very similar to the Croatian one. The food is good, the life is good, and the people are warm,” said Vlasic, who will again play a talismanic role under new Granata coach Ignazio Abate next season.
“I think that, with everything that’s happened in my life and career, the best is yet to come. I’m 28 now, a decent age for a player. We have goals with Torino, and I want to achieve results with this club. People here really live for the club, and I think it’s fantastic to do something big with Torino.”
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