Everton manager Marco Silva has said that the club have yet to decide whether Nikola Vlasic would be integrated into the club’s plans for the forthcoming campaign. The Croatia international is currently on a season-long loan with CSKA Moscow where he has impressed with eight goals and seven assists across all competitions.

Speaking to SportKlub, Silva revealed that the Toffees wanted Vlasic to have as much first-team experience as possible and that was the prime reason behind the loan move. He added that the club are watching the proceedings of the 21-year-old and will make the right decision regarding the attacker’s future.

“We wanted Nikola (Vlasic) to play as much as possible to demonstrate his best qualities. We are watching him very closely. When the right time comes, we will make a decision for him. I am pleased that he is playing regular football, that’s the reason why we sent him to Russia in the first place,” he was quoted as saying by the publication.

Everton’s director of football Marcel Brands recently revealed that the club are focusing on the recruitment of younger players and that project could favour Vlasic ahead of the summer. Nonetheless, there remain question marks whether the youngster would prefer playing a backup role, considering he has recently been the subject of interest from Besiktas.

The Turkish heavyweights are looking into a summer move for the attacker and they are understood to have monitored the player’s proceedings during the course of the current season. Vlasic has also revealed the ambition of staying put with CSKA, and the Toffees could yet consider loaning out the youngster to the Russian outfit for another campaign.

Everton are currently ninth on the league table but they are just one point from the seventh spot, which could offer them a berth in the Europa League. They are scheduled to face Crystal Palace, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur before the season concludes.