Former Everton outcast Nikola Vlasic is on the verge of completing a move to Italian giants AC Milan – causing hubbub among Everton fans.
According to Russian football expert Artur Petrosyan, Vlasic is close to joining Milan for a transfer fee around €25 million, with bonuses added on top of the deal.
Twitter: Nikola Vlasic is close to joining Milan.
Transfer fee around €25m + bonuses.The 23-year-old Croat joined CSKA f… https://t.co/kyrIZXNY3x (@arturpetrosyan)
It is unclear if Everton retained a sell-on clause when Vlasic was sold to CSKA Moscow.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a steady renaissance in Russian football.
Since the Croat joined CSKA from Everton in 2018 on loan, and was signed permanently in 2019 for €15m, Vlasic mustered scored 28 goals from the midfield and became ‘one of the best players to ever play in Russia’ in Petrosyan’s view.
The versatile attacking midfielder can also play on either wing and is valued by Transfermarkt at €27million, a figure firmly in the ballpark of the reported fee that Milan will pay.
Everton paid just under £10 million to sign Vlasic from Hajduk Split in 2017, but the Koeman-era signing managed a lone assist and two goals for Everton and was only afforded 19 appearances in an Everton shirt.
Capped 26 times for Croatia, he has managed 6 goals at a senior international level – including once at Euro 2020.
Read Everton Verdict
Vlasic has the look of a dynamo on the ascendency, and a lack of chances offered to him at Everton may be head-scratching to some fans.
As one Everton fan has noted, Vlasic ‘never got a good run’ at the club with another fan weighing in to blame Sam Allardyce and David Unsworth for inhibiting his development.
In one sense, Everton may be hoping his career stalls somewhat in Italy. A Milan move serves as the ultimate litmus test over whether Vlasic was indeed a top talent let go by the club – or simply one who had outgrown Russian football.
