Ever since Nikola Vlasic arrived at Torino from West Ham United on loan, the Croatia international had been in fine form.
He quickly established himself as a great asset for Ivan Juric, but then the World Cup happened, where the player helped his country finish third in what was a long and tiring tournament.
The West Ham loanee then returned to Turin, but he hasn’t been the same, as explained by Gazzetta dello Sport.
That’s why Juric is now trying to work out what to do with his star, as he attempts to help him recapture that early form.
Gazzetta believe this drop in performance is ‘natural’, as the player hadn’t even missed a friendly up until this point, and will have been physically tired.
He will now be given ‘a targeted week to allow him to rest and recover the brilliance he had until November’.
With no goals and no assists in his last seven league appearances, the outlet point out that ‘such a dull period had never happened to him’ since his arrival, which is why it needs to be addressed.
As for West Ham, they will be monitoring this closely, because if he doesn’t turn this around, both the Hammers and Vlasic could see Torino decide against paying the €15m in the option to buy in the loan, which was the whole point of this deal to begin with.
