Nikola Vlasic made his full West Ham debut in the Europa League and the Croatian is champing at the bit to get a start against Manchester United this weekend. Vlasic came of the bench against Southampton for his first taste of Premier League action since his failed 2017/18 season at Everton. His spell with the Toffees has left the 23-year-old with plenty of motivation to succeed in England this time around.
Nikola Vlasic said: “I feel that I have a point to prove. When I went to Everton I was very young, 19 years old, so I didn’t have too many chances there. Now it’s a different situation. I’m a more mature player, a better player. I loved the three years at CSKA, I think I proved a lot, so I’m back in England and I want to prove myself here in the best league in the world. Maybe [my age] was the problem at Everton but I remember I was good at training. Maybe I should have had more chances but it is what it is. I wanted to leave the club to have more minutes and it helped me to be in Russia. I was the main player at CSKA, it helped me to gain confidence. Now I’m back here and I need to prove myself. I’m back at the start of a journey and every game, every training session is about proving myself. I’m here only seven days and I hope I will be here a long period of time. West Ham have a great, great team. Very good players. We’re all quick, all good technically. The philosophy of the coach is very good — attacking football — and I enjoy it. It was a no-brainer for me when I heard about their interest. It was an easy decision.”
With Michail Antonio suspended on Sunday, Vlasic’s chances of a start in an attacking midfield role have increased with Jarrod Bowen expected to play as the main striker. Vlasic is hoping for a key role against Manchester United, a team he believes is one of the best in the business.
Nikola Vlasic said: “Their team is maybe one of the best in the world. You never know how we’ll approach the game — we still need to talk about that — but one thing is for sure: we will not be scared. I don’t think this team is scared of anyone. We can play with anyone because we have very good players, a good manager, good staff to show us details of the games. We shouldn’t be afraid. We should show our best. I came back [to the Premier League] because of [games like] this. This is football. This will be my first time at the West Ham stadium, so I hope I can play on Sunday.”
