Vlasic makes Moscow move permanent

Thursday , 20 June, 2019 51comments  |  Jump to most recent
Nikola Vlasic has joined CSKA Moscow in a permanent deal worth a reported £14m after signing a five-year contract with the Russian club.

The Croatia U21 international spent this past season on loan with CSKA and had a successful campaign after a frustrating first year in England with Everton.

Vlasic was signed for the Blues by Ronald Koeman from Hajduk Split for £8m in August 2017 after impressing in the two clubs' Europa League qualifying matches but he was largely overlooked by Sam Allardyce after the Dutchman was sacked that October.

It was agreed with Koeman's long-term successor, Marco Silva, that it would best for the 21-year-old to go out on loan in 2018-19 but with the assumption being that he would return to Goodison Park a more experienced player.

Vlasic has made it clear since, however, that he would prefer to make his switch to CSKA a full-time arrangement and he will get his wish with an agreement in place with Everton.

Despite the Moscow club announcing the deal as done yesterday, the transfer wasn't ratified until today and there is still some outstanding paperwork to process that prevented Everton from confirming the Croatian's departure.

There have been suggestions that the Blues included a sell-on clause in the deal but this has not been confirmed and the transfer fee is officially undisclosed.

 

Reader Comments (51)

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Dan Kemp
2 Posted 19/06/2019 at 14:25:21
I suppose if he wants to go, there's not much we can do about it. Would have preferred him to stay.
David Pearl
3 Posted 19/06/2019 at 14:29:01
We don’t know how much improvement he has in him at his age. I’m pretty sure any similar player would cost us double that. Look at Wan Bissaka, who is a apparently worth more than £50m after one promising year. I’m hoping we get rid of Sandro, Bollasie and Mirallas next. Please.
Paul Bernard
4 Posted 19/06/2019 at 14:30:49
Mixed feelings for me. I don’t think we ever truly found his best position in the team. Unfortunately for Vlasic the team was a mess, I think we both lost out to a degree.
Steve Ferns
5 Posted 19/06/2019 at 14:39:25
He seemed a square peg for a round hole. It doesn't diminish his talent, at all. I hope he goes on to have a successful career. We've made a tidy profit on a player none of our managers really fancied.
Bill Watson
6 Posted 19/06/2019 at 14:39:54
Some regrets as he never really had a chance of a sustained run in the side to show what he could actually do but think it's a good deal for all parties.
Everton make a profit on the original fee which will cover the wages he's been paid and we have a sell on clause, too. We will also have had loan fees and, maybe, not had to pay his full wage, anyway.
This deal will help subsidise losses on other outgoings.

Mike Gaynes
7 Posted 19/06/2019 at 14:43:25
I'd have liked to see him get a chance with us in his preferred position in central mid, where he never got an opportunity. Even on the rare occasions when he did play, it was out of position on the wing.

But clearly he has found a home, and you can't blame him for wanted to stay there. And the return isn't bad for a two-year investment.

Sam Hoare
8 Posted 19/06/2019 at 14:52:17
I think we could have got more for a player who was ranked one of the best in the Cl last season (despite the small sample size).

£14m is a snip these days for a hot, Croatia international who's already one of the best players in Russia at 21.

I reckon we may regret this in years to come but it seems his heart was very set on a move so maybe not that much that could have been done. Could have been a worthy successor to Gylfi but time will tell how far he goes. I'll be expecting a decent sell-on fee in 2 years time when he moves to Italy or Spain.

Justin Doone
9 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:05:54
A real shame but I hope we have inserted several clauses ie buy back, sell on fee etc.

No point keeping an unhappy player but I think Silva has let a real talent go by not giving him a chance to play.

Peter Gorman
10 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:10:21
The lad is a gobshite - happy that we made a bit of profit even if he could be worth more in a few years.

Bye bye

Si Smith
11 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:14:06
One crying little c¥#t if you ask me, constantly moaning for a move instead of knuckling down and showing the management what there missing.

Would want all our talented youngsters to remain at the club, but thrres only so much bitching anyone person can do before you cut ties.

Ps watched him for Croatia u21s the other day, there best player by a mile.

Winston Williamson
12 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:19:49
Just don't think he was a good fit for EFC.

He did not knuckle down and force himself into contention. Hard work, determination and talent would of walked into our team at that time - he didn't.

He's an irrelevancy now...

George Cumiskey
13 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:20:33
Never got a chance in my opinion, came into a crap side. Could of given him one more season he's still young enough to sell on at a profit. Lets hope we don't live to regret it !.
cathal naughton
14 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:31:08
I don't pretend to know much about this kind of thing but would it not make more sense to put a buyback option on these sorts of sales young and potentially much better and more valuable down the line. The sell on clause is all well and good but if Barcelona and others actively have these buyback options inserted into contracts why can't Everton in order to gain maximum return in the future.
Nick Armitage
15 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:34:35
He might be good in Russia but so was Bilyaletdinov. Ultimately he is not fit to lace the boots of any of our current attackers regardless of what his best position is. Too slow for the Prem and won't be missed.
John Hammond
16 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:56:59
A victim of the infamous recruitment shambles but who knows it might not have worked out anyway. Good luck to the lad.
John Hammond
17 Posted 19/06/2019 at 15:59:49
And just seen we've inserted a sell-on clause into the deal so a bit of profit on the sale and a bit extra should he move on for big money in the future. Nice work Mr Brands.
Si Smith
18 Posted 19/06/2019 at 16:07:59
Cathal 14,
I'm a fan of a buy back clause in most cases, but in this particular case it's pointless, main reason being we don't particularly want to sell, we would be happy with another loan deal if Vlasic was up for the task of becoming a better player in a lesser league with a view to first team football at Everton in season 20/21.

Buy back clause would be best used in cases like Pennington (although I don't believe will ever be good enough for us) and the likes of JJ Kenny, Holgate, DCL, Dowell and other homegrown youngsters if there ever moved on.

Robert Leigh
19 Posted 19/06/2019 at 16:09:05
I know there'll be a difference in wages, but if you consider Gomes is coming in for £22m and we've sold Vlasic for £14m we've done VERY well.
Paul Hughes
20 Posted 19/06/2019 at 16:12:49
Vlasic never really did it for me, so no great loss in my opinion. Good business for us, good luck to the lad.
Ian Bennett
21 Posted 19/06/2019 at 16:18:08
Good business.

Moved a player on who added nothing on a Saturday afternoon, bringing in Gomes on a perm deal in return.

£14.5m transfer fee, plus a loan fee, plus a sell on fee = ~£17/18m.

Throw in £5m if Lukaku moves on, and that Gomes signed without weakening the squad at all.

Si Smith
22 Posted 19/06/2019 at 16:23:50
Robert I could agree more, they we have conducted our business over past few years is nothing short of pathetic, the above deal is brilliant for us as a club.

Jags, William's and Vlasic all gone off our first team wage, most likely Steklenburg to follow and only Gomes and the Huddersfield keeper in seems good business.

Lots more players to go still but we are doing the right things atm.

Miralas, Martina, Besic, McCarthy, Niasse, Bolasie, Steklenburg, all still big earners need moving on also along with a few almost over the hill kids (Pennington, Garbutt) but imo were going the right way.

For me the whole of the above could go without replacements being brought in, due to the development of our youngsters for one and secondly there lack of games them lot played last season for us.

Players such as Tosun, Walcot, and Schneiderlin also should be moved on imo to make way for a squad freshen up.

Mina will be like a new player and hopefully an adequate replacement for Zouma, and Holgate coming back gives us all the cover at centre half we need into especially as we are not in Europe, and also due to the emergence of Feeney.

Plenty of moving parts still but I'm genuinely excited by the level of player we are linked with, players like Neres, Malcom and Bernard Traore are quality,, much more refreshing than past few seasons links of Rooney, Walcot and Williams !

Also links to the young Juve forward Moses Kean is refreshing and exciting too, even if it's only a loan deal, hes a real promising player and could be massive for us in later stages of the season if brought in.

John Pierce
23 Posted 19/06/2019 at 16:24:33
Completely ambivalent. Says it all.
Jay Harris
24 Posted 19/06/2019 at 16:38:22
Showed plenty of promise but not enough to give a number of managers confidence to play him regularly which is what he wanted.

I cant blame him for that in fact it shows a better attitude than the hangers on on huge wages who say they want to "fight" for their place and then stink the joint out.

Good luck to the lad.

Alan J Thompson
25 Posted 19/06/2019 at 17:03:28
I had Vlasic down as a young player with potential worthy of further opportunity rather than included amongst those described as deadwood. I know a lot want the finished article rather than potential but given his treatment at Everton at a very unsettled time, I don't wish the lad any misfortune.
Tom Bowers
26 Posted 19/06/2019 at 17:22:13
Not quite living up to standard can depend on who's picking the team, the strategy and then the players themselves doing the business.
Vlasic looked really good against Everton and showed some promise after being selected but the form of any Everton side over the last 5 years has been very inconsistent and I believe some young players have been affected by this.
It's much easier for a young player to shine and progress when instilled into a top side, ala Foden at City or Trent-Arnold at RS for example.
Everton have had a plethora of signings and young players coming through who just got stagnated in the mire.
Michael Lynch
27 Posted 19/06/2019 at 17:23:59
The standard required for a player to succeed in the PL is much higher than just about any other league in the world. Vlasic didn't look good enough in the few appearances he made for us. That's not to say he won't improve - he's young - so it would make sense for us to get a cut of any future sale, but other than that he's just another in a long list of players who haven't made it here. Good luck to him and his strange sidies
Dave Williams
28 Posted 19/06/2019 at 17:27:58
Never showed anything compelling to my mind. Ok he did well in Russia but we have a former Russia player of the year in our ranks who is totally out of place in the PL so that is perhaps not a great recommendation on its own.
We have to sell as well as buy and selling Vlasic for a nice profit which enables us to get Gomes for a net outlay of £8m is good business. We won’t miss Vlasic as he would not have figured for us, we get rid of his wages and Gomes signing means that we can look to sell Schneiderlin.
Overall excellent business in my opinion.
Martin Berry
29 Posted 19/06/2019 at 18:34:02
Good business for us and I wish the lad good luck and a successful career.
We move on..
Steve Ferns
30 Posted 19/06/2019 at 18:55:50
Si, how do you envisage a buy back clause will work?

Brands: "Nikola, you've had a great season with CSKA and we've exercised our buy back clause and I'm here to agree terms for you to return to Everton."

Vlasic: "Thanks, but I don't want to go back to Everton".

Brands: "I have spoken to Marco, he has been very impressed and we can guarantee you first team football, you can have Gylfi's position and shirt and I promise things will be different this time."

Vlasic: "Sorry Mr Brands, I did not like it at Everton, I felt disrespected and bigger clubs are interested".

Brands: "but we have a buy-back clause".

Vlasic: "But I refuse to sign the contract"

And so on …

We're not Barcelona or Real Madrid, we can't persuade players to go back like Deulofeu did.

Pat Kelly
31 Posted 19/06/2019 at 19:00:17
£14m towards a striker.
Martin Mason
32 Posted 19/06/2019 at 20:18:59
I'm sorry for what has happened, he could have been a sensational buy but just couldn't gel with the club. A great bit of business though which shows how professional the club is now that we are beginning to understand what it is to be professional in our dealings.
Bill Gienapp
33 Posted 19/06/2019 at 20:33:31
Sad to see him go - especially since he seems to fit the exact profile of the sort of players Brands is looking to bring in. But if he had his heart set on leaving, there was little point in dragging things out.
Tony Abrahams
34 Posted 19/06/2019 at 20:55:34
Easy sell, decent profit, but it's the likes of Mirallas, Bolasie, Besic and Niasse that I really want to see depart from our club.

Could be anything, this kid, so I'm glad we will make some more profit, if he fulfills his potential. Hopefully it shows we are becoming a much more professional club.

Kenny Smith
35 Posted 19/06/2019 at 20:59:46
We bought him on a whim after a couple of half-decent showings against us. They were probably the best games he played. He's got the potential to be great but has looked more like McGeady when he was given a chance.

No loss really.

Si Cooper
36 Posted 19/06/2019 at 21:00:37
Steve, not the Si you expected but I'll give it a go.

You sign a young prospect who doesn't settle and gets frustrated. Next season, you loan him out and he has a good season, so naturally he thinks ‘This is where I'm supposed to be.' and makes it clear he wants the move made permanent.

Older, wiser heads realise it's not worth battling him on it but say ‘Okay, if you really want this, we won't stand in your way... In fact, we will make it easy for you. Only thing we want in return is the opportunity to speak to you first should you ever change your mind about playing in Russia.'

Then they make the official contract with CSKA who are the ones who can be made to sell to Everton should the player ever decide he would like to give it another go with us.

Everybody's happy, nobody's forced to do anything, and we sensibly keep our options.

Si Smith
37 Posted 19/06/2019 at 23:21:26
Steve @30,

Did you even read my comments?

I can only assume you never even made it to line 2 yet you wrote a full make-believe discussion up.

Crazy.

Jack Convery
38 Posted 20/06/2019 at 11:21:03
Another pay day beckons with Vlasic deal. I see him stepping up from CSKA sooner rather than later. Good luck to him and a good deal made by EFC for a change.
Drew O'Neall
39 Posted 20/06/2019 at 11:31:46
I hope we have a sell-on/contract renewal clause at £14m!
Derek Knox
40 Posted 20/06/2019 at 15:23:44
I have always been of the notion with regards to players, who don't want to stay, move them on for the best possible deal, which looks to be the case with Vlasic. Russian and Turkish sides are renowned for not splashing large fees on players.

It is encouraging that Marcel Brands has included a sell on clause like the one with Lukaku, so should the player get better or move on for a larger fee we will get a chunk of it, or even a small nugget.

The lad was given limited chances, albeit in a different position to which he prefers, but like many have mooted he didn't impress, kind of had the impression that he felt he'd made a mistake, or rather Koeman & Walsh did among many bringing him in the first instance.

Wish him all the best for the future, and he may net us another bonus should he improve and be in demand.

Neil Thomas
41 Posted 20/06/2019 at 16:01:50
I wish the lad all the best, and would have liked to have seen him get a chance, but he’s obviously been looked at by the trained eye, and was not suitable for our future plans, but I do think he could have a good future.
Kevin Dyer
42 Posted 20/06/2019 at 16:15:13
Disappointing news but kind of looked inevitable. A consequence of the cock-up that was last season. A talented, bright young player - exactly the sort we need at the club - that has thrived over in Russia. He showed in the Champions League that he already has the ability to play at the highest level and will surely only improve. £14m covers our outlay but I fear this will look peanuts within 2 years, if he continues to impress and ends up in Italy, Spain or Germany playing for a top team.

At least Koeman played him, albeit out of position and considering the leap up in quality, from Croatia to the EPL and the challenge of a first move away from home he was far from our worst performer when he featured. Consider that the experienced Sigurdsson also struggled, despite being a far more regular selection. After Koeman's departure he was consigned to the rubbish bin, along with Lookman by the visionaries that are Unsworth and Alladyce. Ironically in the dead-rubber final Europa game both players looked different class to everyone else on the pitch and ran riot. They were not given a second look.

I think he did not react well to what would have been a depressing first season and was eager to move on. Maybe Silva sensed this (or just didn't rate him)? From what I read about Vlasic he comes from a sporting family, his dad secured private 1:1 sessions for him with a coach in Croatia when he was just a little kid to develop his talent. He was Captain at Hajduk Split as a teenager, scouted by top teams like Real Madrid and Milan at 16 and clearly believes in his own ability and future. It looks like he was used to being held in high regard and was not getting that over here. Clearly he did at CSKA.

Anyway, he wouldn't be the first young talent who's first big move didn't work out, but who came good after a reset. Likely he moved a year too early and most definitely to the wrong club! Too bad as if we'd signed him last summer I think things would've worked out very differently. It's easier in some ways for a young, physically dominant (powerful, fast) player to make an immediate impact (though often they fade away as their game does not improve), whereas ball-players like Vlasic and Modric are more nuanced and can need a bit more development and perseverance. I believe this is especially true of the EPL Modric, for example was older and had more games under his belt when he moved to Spurs. A year or two can make all the difference.

Frank Crewe
43 Posted 20/06/2019 at 17:19:58
I could say he'll be missed but he was never really here. Just a Koeman impulse buy who never worked out. Such is life. He got his move and we got out money back and made a small profit. So it's a win win. Onward and upward.
Darren Hind
44 Posted 20/06/2019 at 18:02:20
I can't help feeling we may have missed a trick here.

He was really quite impressive in those Europa League games and when we signed him I thought to myself "This could be interesting..." but it never really got interesting.

Good luck to the guy. It may just have been the Premier League wasn't for him. He wouldn't be the first.

I'll file this under FIIK.

Peter Gorman
45 Posted 20/06/2019 at 21:13:35
"After Koeman's departure he was consigned to the rubbish bin, along with Lookman by the visionaries that are Unsworth and Alladyce."

Where, in your humble opinion, should Vlasic have been playing? Ahead of Siggy? Hardly.

The problem with Vlasic is he was given opportunities when the seniors faltered and failed to impress. Same could be said of Lookman.

If the kids want to move on and play regularly, good for them, but they gave no manager pause to include them at the expense of better players.

Oliver Molloy
46 Posted 20/06/2019 at 22:11:40
Don't know what the fuss is about. He doesn't fancy us, and it looks like Silva and Brands don't fancy him, so we move on.

Good luck to him.

David Ellis
47 Posted 21/06/2019 at 03:22:58
A totally random signing. Just didn't fit – despite some ability. We made money on the deal and he's off the wage bill so I'm happy with that. I normally wish leaving players well but he bad-mouths us all the time so I will withhold that particular platitude in this case (unless there's a sell-on clause... in which case, I hope he's the new Messi).
Eddie Dunn
48 Posted 21/06/2019 at 08:40:45
The lad has ability and showed some good form in Russia but the Premier League is a very different kettle of fish. True that he wasn't played in his preferred position but I suspect that his attitude hindered his chances.
Bob Parrington
49 Posted 21/06/2019 at 08:48:53
Like some other posters have commented, Vlasic never really looked the part to me. Can't argue against his spirit and endeavour. He is a real tryer but not suited to the Premier League in my opinion.

I wish him well!

Rob Marsh
50 Posted 21/06/2019 at 15:07:17
There was potential in him and with some flashes of it on the pitch, but he had head problems and that's that!.

He also had a sister who (famous on a small scale) made herself busy on social media telling the world how much of a superstar her brother was and how EFC was ruining his career and that he should play every game.

Goodbye to both of them!

Oliver Molloy
51 Posted 22/06/2019 at 19:42:11
Rob,
you are correct regards his sister.
I heard that our Russian guy Ryazantsev had a word with Vlasic who was told in no uncertain terms to tell his mouthpiece hungry for fame sister to shut the fuck up which he took exception to apparently, all down hill from there I suspect.
Kevin Dyer
52 Posted 24/06/2019 at 15:33:51
Peter #45,

You took the effort to quote me but clearly failed to understand my post.

Where do I say he'd be replacing a starter? I didn't. Squads need depth, to cover for injury and loss of form. Sigurdson, one of our key men, had a slump mid-season. We had no cover, he carried on playing but looked stale, noticeably improving after the international break.

If Vlasic was with us, he could have rotated in to spell him. We had no-one that Silva trusted. Maybe he wouldn't have trusted Vlasic either, but seeing how he's played this season the lad clearly has a bit about him.

Cover can be vets, like Baines or preferably younger players with some upside. Vlasic and Lookman have upside. No guarantees but both have shown potential (at CSKA and Leipzig). Few youngsters will deliver when given 5 mins, here then 10 mins a month later. Both were given some opportunities before Koeman got sacked and neither looked worse than the established pros that were struggling 2 years ago. Allardyce couldn't wait to offload Lookman and Vlasic rotted with no football for 6 months. No wonder both were desperate to leave.

Youngsters, if part of the first team, need meaningful playing time to evaluate progression. Neither had that.


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