West Ham United boss David Moyes believes summer signing Nikola Vlašić is ready to step-up to the plate with Saïd Benrahma away on international duty with Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Vlašić has had to wait for his opportunity after arriving from CSKA Moscow early in the season, but scored his first goal in Claret & Blue in the 4-1 victory at Watford in our final game of 2021 and Moyes is sure there is more to come.
With the Hammers set to entertain Leeds United in the Emirates FA Cup third round on Sunday, Vlašić could be handed his chance from the start – and the manager will not hesitate to do so.
"Niksi will have opportunities and we're trying to break him in," he said.
"He's beginning to show some good signs so let's hope he can step up when he gets the opportunity. I do see opportunities for him with Saïd away."
The boss acknowledged he does face some selection headaches with two Premier League games to follow in the next seven days, but he is extremely keen to embark on a successful cup run.
He continued: “I’d love to have a good run in the cup, I want to do well in the Europa League as well, but also our league position last year gave us the chance in the Europa League, so you don’t want to give up your Premier League games very easily if you want to challenge the top teams.
“The balance of the whole thing is difficult to get right, but we’ll attempt to do that and try to put a really good team out against Leeds United.
“I think we’ve got a team that given the right draw, given the right moment, could easily go and challenge anybody for the FA Cup. Overall, we’ve got to get through the first tie, which we all know is a tough tie in the third round.”