Nikola Vlasic didn’t have the right mentality to succeed at Everton and West Ham United, hence his struggles at both clubs.
That’s according to Croatia manager Zlatko Dalić, who says he has spoken to the player regarding the matter.
Vlasic is currently at Torino after completing a permanent move to the Italian club from West Ham this summer after a successful loan spell last season.
The move brought an end to a miserable spell at West Ham, where he arrived in a €30m deal from CSKA Moscow in 2021 but failed to impress manager David Moyes, managing just one goal and two assists in 31 games for the club.
That followed a similarly disappointing spell at Everton, where he had arrived as a youngster from Croatia but managed just two goals and one assists in 19 games.
The Toffees were more than happy to move him on when given the opportunity to do so, with then director of football Marcel Brands seemingly deciding he was not good enough early on.
It seems unlikely he’ll return to England for a third spell with another club and Dalić admits they have spoken about his struggles in the Premier League.
“Nikola has skill and talent, but in London he did not perform as well as expected, similarly to what happened at Everton,” he said.
“Very good instead in the three years in Moscow with CSKA. Here, he needs to return to those levels. It’s simply a question of a mental ‘chip’. We talked about it together.”
