The latest round of transfer rumours has seen the Ukranian forward linked with a move to Goodison Park.
It has been slim pickings in terms of signings in the transfer window thus far for Everton. Only four new players have joined: Gerard Deulofeu (£4.3 million), Mason Holgate (£2 million), Tom Cleverley (free) and David Henen (undisclosed).
The money forked out has been miniscule, making up less than 1% of the total amount spent on new players by Premier League clubs (approximately £500 million and counting). The result has been unrest among fans and increased calls for the removal of the club’s board of directors and chairman Bill Kenwright.
Understandably so too. Most Evertonians would be sick of hearing that the club is ‘interested in’ or ‘linked with’ players without the move actually materialising.
But reports indicate the Toffees have a strong interest in Ukrainian international Andriy Yarmolenko, a player whose name is worth getting excited about.
Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur, among others, have courted the 25-year-old during the summer, though the attentions of those clubs on the player seem to have faded somewhat.
Yarmolenko’s signing would be one that would add immense value to the Everton squad and reaffirm manager Roberto Martinez’s desire to be ambitious in pursuit of a lofty standing in English football after the well looked to have dried up.
A Dynamo player since 2008, aged 19 at the time, Yarmolenko has made 177 appearances for the club, scoring 71 goals and entrenching his position in the Ukraine national team. For it, he has notched up 49 caps and 19 goals on top of 16 appearances at under-21 level and 14 with the country’s under-19s.
Last season was a fruitful one for Yarmolenko and Dynamo. The club sealed its first league title since 2009 in which the left-footer played a big part, netting 14 times.
Yarmolenko did some damage on the European stage too, damage that Everton would be all too familiar with. He opened the scoring as Dynamo ran riot against the Blues in the round of 16 second leg, eventually winning 5-2 (6-4 on aggregate) to dismiss England’s final continental challenger.
It was not just in that match that Yarmolenko’s domestic form carried over to Europe. On Dynamo’s run to the quarter-finals, where Italian club Fiorentina knocked them out, Yarmolenko was on the scoresheet four times with an incredible seven assists to boot.
He is a picture of versatility up front. Yarmolenko is capable of playing on either flank as well as centre-forward. The possibility of competition between he and Romelu Lukaku for the lone post up front is an exciting prospect for Evertonians.
Now a dual Ukrainian Premier League winner, Yarmolenko’s contract with Dynamo expires in the summer of 2016, so his signature presents good value should the capital club choose not to risk letting its prized asset leave on a free at the end of the season.
Following the emphatic 3-0 win over Southampton, much of the pessimism surrounding the blue half of Merseyside has subsided, though much of it remains with off-field business still under considerable scrutiny.
The club can take another step to easing that pressure and concern by injecting itself with a newfound energy in the form of Yarmolenko’s signature ahead of its Premier League rivals. He is a perfect fit.
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