Hosting the latest video on the Hammers Chat YouTube channel, ‘Gonzo’ has been speaking about all things West Ham United-related.
One of the main talking points on the video was the reported price tag of summer arrival, Nikola Vlasic.
Will Vlasic find some form at West Ham?
Yes
No
The Croatian joined the Hammers during the summer from CSKA Moscow for a reported initial fee of €30m (£26.8m) plus €9m (£7.7m) in add-ons.
However, there seems to have been some debate as to whether the fee for the 24-year-old is actually as high as it was initially reported, which may come as welcome news to some West Ham fans as they await the midfielder’s first goal for the Irons.
Speaking on the matter, Gonzo revealed he had been asking some of his sources to find out whether or not the Hammers could be paying in excess of £30m for the Croatian.
“So I asked around some people who I sort of trust will know the figures.
“It never was £32m at all. But [fellow Hammers Chat presenter] Geo sort of had it right at £27m, but the two reports that I read that suggested also £18m, they were also right because I do believe it’s £18m with £9m worth of add-ons.
“Now for those £9m of add-ons to be activated, I think lots of stuff has to happen. He has to score lots of goals, he has to play lots of games, and we have to qualify for the Champions League – we might just do that.”
TIF Thoughts on Vlasic’s start at West Ham…
It has certainly been an underwhelming start to Vlasic’s life at the London Stadium in terms of goals and assists given he has yet to register any goal involvements since arriving on deadline day (via Transfermarkt).
However, we think the Hammers fans must have patience with the 24-year-old given his only real opportunities have come in the Europa League games which have come weeks apart from each other.
The Croatian is yet to build up a consistent run of games in David Moyes’ Premier League side with just one minute of action under his belt in the previous four league games.
However, the Hammers have only lost one game this season in which Vlasic has featured and we are interested to see if his form will improve if he is given the opportunity in Moyes’ starting XI.
In other news: ‘I checked it out with the club’ – Ex reveals Ben Johnson ‘contract situation’