West Ham loanee Nikola Vlasic has already scored three goals in Serie A and Torino should not make the same mistake they did with Dennis Praet last season, writes Lorenzo Bettoni.
Vlasic’s third successive league goal was enough for Torino to seal a 1-0 win over Lecce last night and climb into the European places along with Roma and Udinese.
The Croatia international joined the Granata on loan with an option to buy for €15m from West Ham and the early signs are more than promising for Toro.
Vlasic was drafted in to replace Dennis Praet, who returned to Leicester City after his loan spell at the Stadio Grande Torino in 2021-22.
The Granata refused to use their option to buy for €15m trying to negotiate a lower fee with the Foxes, so they eventually missed out on the Belgium international.
That’s precisely as much as they’ll have to pay in the summer to sign Vlasic and if the ex-Milan target continues to impress, there’s no doubt Torino should spend the money agreed with West Ham and sign the player permanently.
Ivan Juric is a long-time admirer of Vlasic and pushed for his signature in the summer. The Croatian tactician is doing an extraordinary job at the club and finished last season with 50 points, 13 more than in 2020-21 and the best result for the Granata in three years.
An ambitious coach like him and a passionate fanbase like the one of Torino deserve a solid project based on quality players such as Vlasic. Although it’s still early in the campaign, the West Ham loanee is proving to have what Torino and Juric need to make a further step forward. Signing him for just €15m would be an absolute bargain if he continues to put in similar performances.
@lorebetto