Nikola Vlasic has been named in Croatia’s U21 squad to face Czech Republic and Moldova towards the end of March.
The Everton player hasn’t been getting minutes under Sam Allardyce, and that’s been causing some concern in his home country.
Having broken through to the senior squad, and after starting the season at Everton reasonably well, Vlasic had been expected to go the World Cup with Croatia’s senior team.
But the longer he struggles for minutes the more difficult it will be for him to achieve that.
Some of the reasoning given in Croatia for Valsic’s U21 inclusion is that he’ll get minutes that he so desperately needs.
If the Everton outcast had been called up for the seniors then it’s likely he would have been on the bench again. Part of the Croatia squad for the victorious World Cup play-off against Greece, Vlasic only got 7 minutes over the two legs.
Playing both matches with the U21s could give the 20 year old the chance to find the back of the net a couple of times and impress Allardyce.
