 Two days later, he was in the start-up team, in Vaslui's opening against Rapid, counting his league debut for his new team.One week later, Niculae scored Vaslui's third in a 3–0 home league victory over Petrolul Ploieşti, counting his first goal in the yellow-green shirt.On 8 August, Niculae scored his first goal for Vaslui in the European competitions, in a 1–4 home defeat against Fenerbahçe.