West Ham is eyeing an exciting Lingard alternative
Although West Ham’s Gaffer, David Moyes, has never been shy about bringing Jesse Lingard back to the club, there may be an exciting alternative on the horizon.
West Ham fans were awoken yesterday with some rather intriguing news. The always faithful ExWHUemployee broke on The West Ham Way’s Patron site that that club was now being linked to Nikola Vlasic. The one time Evertonian is now excelling in Russia, and apparently on David Moyes’ radar.
Vlasic, now 23-years-old, has made a new name for himself playing for CSKA Moscow and has earned the eyes and paychecks of a lot of well-named clubs. Since arriving from Everton in 2018, the Croatian has played in 102 matches, scoring 32 times and assisting his teammates 20 times as well. Those are massive numbers compared to his two seasons with the Toffies.
The player has minimal experience in the Premier League, only playing in 12 matches in two years, but he has excelled well in other massive competitions. Between the Champions and Europa Leagues, Nikola Vlasic has played in a total of 23 matches scoring three times apiece in both competitions.
West Ham is eyeing this exciting Lingard alternative
Most recently, and probably most notably, Vlasic played within the Euro’s, helping his country make it to the Round of 16. During the qualifying matches and the Euro’s themselves, Vlasic played in all 10 matches, scoring four times. He is finally coming into his own and has now capped in 26 international matches since his first appearance in 2017.
Vlasic certainly plays the same style of football as Jesse Lingard, as they module each other’s game well. Besides having the knowledge and game time in the English Premier League, the two are eerily similar to one another.
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However, with all of this excitement and hope, there is a downside. Nikola Vlasic isn’t a striker, and for as much as West Ham loves their Michail Antonio, they need to have depth in case the inevitable happens. Vlasic isn’t a striker by nature, but don’t hold David Moyes back from using hybrid-type players to fill in and excel in new roles.