Šibenik, which fought for the first place spot in the Yugoslav Second League. Bilić, as centre half, scored seven goals and played for the national team. Petar Nadoveza called him up for three matches: in Skopje, Niš and Mostar. He scored two goals and was declared man of the match in all three matches. Bilić became the target of clubs such as Dinamo Zagreb, Red Star Belgrade and Partizan, which all wanted to acquire the young defender. He helped his club win the 1990–91 Yugoslav Cup before the dismantling of the Yugoslav First League. During the first season of the newly founded Croatian First League, Hajduk won the league and Super Cup. One season later, they also secured the Croatian Cup. West Ham United In January 1996, Harry Redknapp, manager of Premier League club West Ham United, brought him to the club for a fee of £1.3 million, setting the club's record for highest fee paid for an incoming player. He made his debut on 12 February 1996 in a 0–1 away win against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Bilić's shot was saved by Tottenham goalkeeper Ian Walker only for West Ham's Dani, another debutant, to divert the ball into the Tottenham goal. Bilić scored three goals in his time with West Ham: two in the Premier League, against Liverpool and Sunderland, and one in the League Cup against Barnet, heading-in from a Stan Lazaridis corner, his first for the club. He played 13 games in the 1995–96 season and 41 in the 1996–97 season, a season which also saw him voted a runner-up, to Julian Dicks, for the Hammer of the Year award. In March 1997, Everton manager Joe Royle brokered a £4.5 million move, with Bilić claiming he had a debt of loyalty to West Ham to stay with the club until the end of the season to ensure they were not relegated. West Ham finished in 14th place, two points above the relegation places. Everton Bilić turned out for Everton in August 1997 after assuring himself of new manager Howard Kendall's full support. He initially brought some class to the Toffees' backline, but his season was marred by bookings that saw him miss several games through suspension. After his exertions in the 1998 World Cup, Bilić revealed a nagging groin strain that required rest and treatment, which he took back home in Croatia. After missing the first quarter