It was in the 68th minute, on a Wednesday night in Moscow, Croatia and England engaging belligerently for a place in the prestigious World Cup final; when Šime Vrsaljko receives the ball on his hip, onto the ground before unleashing a thumping cross into the box that needed a touch from Ivan Perišić to even the score line.

The Croatians celebrated, but also an enthusiastic feeling swamped from the Inter supporters camp as well. It was at this time the rumors linking Šime with Inter was getting intense. Šime demonstrated immense technical virtuosity, fighting spirit, great energy combined with a tremendous work rate.

He is deemed as the perfect replacement for Joao Cancelo and also a long term solution to Inter’s right back woes that have been a headache since the departure of Maicon.

Stats

Name: Šime Vrsaljko
Age: 26
Position: Right Back
Country: Croatia

2017/18:

Appearances: 19 (2)
Tackles: 48
Interceptions: 36
Clearances: 55
Key Passes: 13
Assists: 4
Aerial duels won: 45

Strengths:

Vrsaljko does not shy away from being a modern, attack-minded right back with precautionary defensive contributions. Strong in aerial duels, very athletic with a tenacious character. A trait that is very common in the disciples of ‘El Cholo’ Simeone. Šime also plays a key role in the build ups, especially down the flanks and is capable creating chances in the attacking third. He was the second most assist maker at Atletico Madrid; tied with Koke and Angel Correa despite featuring less.

Weaknesses:

Inconsistency. Vrsaljko is criticized for his lack of consistent displays in Spain. No doubts If he puts in the same performances he made at the world cup then Inter have got themselves a solid and motivated player.

Another notable weakness is in his end product which is often very dreadful. His cross ratio are statistical the worse in La Liga. This area needs vast improvement since majority of Inter’s offensive plays are reliant on the delivery from the flanks.

How He Fits In Spalletti’s Tactics:

Vrsaljko can be deployed as a right back in a classic four man defence (4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3) or as a wingback in a three man defense (3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1).

Vrsaljko benefits from great ability in shifting direction and, indulge in creating space for himself. His positioning sense is remarkably good and his style of play, which favours a swift one-two combinations with centre midfielders or wingers, is also considerably impressive. A marauding fullback imperviously useful in counter attacks as well as protecting the line.

What To Expect:

Overlapping runs, switching plays with the wingers and a lot of crosses. There couldn’t be any better right back available at such price I could think of than Šime Vrsaljko. A blood spitting player that grinds hard to get what he wants. He is exactly the type of player that would excel under Luciano Spalletti.

Vrsaljko is already accustomed to the Serie A, having spent three seasons in Italy. Adding to this, he has already played with three of his teammates (Brozovic & Perišić with the National team And Politano at Sassuolo). So adjusting to Serie A and Inter is definitely not an issue.