Nikola Vlasic made his full West Ham debut in the Europa League and the Croatian is champing at the bit to get a start against Manchester United this weekend.
Vlasic came of the bench against Southampton for his first taste of Premier League action since his failed 2017/18 season at Everton.
His spell with the Toffees has left the 23-year-old with plenty of motivation to succeed in England this time around.
"I feel that I have a point to prove," Vlasic said after the 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb. "When I went to Everton I was very young, 19 years old, so I didn’t have too many chances there.
"Now it’s a different situation. I’m a more mature player, a better player. I loved the three years at CSKA, I think I proved a lot, so I’m back in England and I want to prove myself here in the best league in the world.
"Maybe [my age] was the problem at Everton but I remember I was good at training. Maybe I should have had more chances but it is what it is.
"I wanted to leave the club to have more minutes and it helped me to be in Russia. I was the main player at CSKA, it helped me to gain confidence.
"Now I’m back here and I need to prove myself. I’m back at the start of a journey and every game, every training session is about proving myself. I’m here only seven days and I hope I will be here a long period of time.
"West Ham have a great, great team. Very good players. We’re all quick, all good technically.
"The philosophy of the coach is very good — attacking football — and I enjoy it. It was a no-brainer for me when I heard about their interest. It was an easy decision."
With Michail Antonio suspended on Sunday, Vlasic's chances of a start in an attacking midfield role have increased with Jarrod Bowen expected to play as the main striker.
Vlasic is hoping for a key role against Manchester United, a team he believes is one of the best in the business.
"Their team is maybe one of the best in the world," he said. "You never know how we’ll approach the game — we still need to talk about that — but one thing is for sure: we will not be scared.
"I don’t think this team is scared of anyone. We can play with anyone because we have very good players, a good manager, good staff to show us details of the games.
"We shouldn’t be afraid. We should show our best.
"I came back [to the Premier League] because of [games like] this. This is football. This will be my first time at the West Ham stadium, so I hope I can play on Sunday."
