Which Winger Should Tottenham Sign?
Andriy Yarmolenko (25) – Dynamo Kiev
What he’s done recently
Soon approaching his prime, at 25-years-old Andriy Yarmolenko has recently said that he’s accomplished everything with his current club, Dynamo Kiev. So it appears that his time in the Premier Liga (first tier of Ukraine football) is coming to an end.
"“I think that right now is the perfect time to change clubs. I promised that until we become champions, I was not going anywhere. I kept my promise, we became champions. The president knows that I want to leave, I have repeatedly spoken about this.”"
Judging by his numbers from the 2014-15 season, it’s hard to argue with him. The Ukrainian winger appeared in 43 games, scored 19 goals and had 21 assists in all competitions. By singling out what he did in the Ukraine Premier League here are his numbers: 26 appearances, 14 goals and 14 assists.
Outside of that, he helped lead his club to a domestic title (27th championship, first since ’08-’09 season) and reach the quarter-finals in the Europa League.
How would he fit with Tottenham
Obviously with his proven track record, and playing mainly as a right winger, Yarmolenko would instantly upgrade the right wing position in Mauricio Pochettino’s offense. It’ll add another scoring threat if Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli are able to continue the form that they showed last season.
However with that said, Andriy Yarmolenko has let it be known, slightly, where he wants to go next and it may affect Tottenham.
"“I want to grow. It is hard, it is unclear where I will play next. There have been suggestions from good teams. I feel the strength and confidence to be able to play in one of the top championships. If I want to play enough in Europe, now is the time to move.”"
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According to the Daily Mail, they suggest that the Ukrainian winger would favor a move to England but might go to France if PSG come calling.
Regardless of whether he joins PSG or any other league other than the Premier League. Andriy Yarmolenko wants to play for the top clubs and have a chance to play in Europe yearly.
By default this effectively removes Tottenham from the equation. He never stated that he wants to play in the Champions League, but it should be a given after already playing in the Europa League — it makes sense.
Should the 25-year-old be content with another year of the Europa League, then the Ukraine winger would fit in with Tottenham and would be one of their veteran players due to his age.
Can Tottenham afford him
There hasn’t been an official bid placed on him, but according to his Transfermarkt page, they value the 25-year-old at €24 million (£17m) which seems fair but also low at the same time.
For a winger who has the talent that he does, he should be commanding around £20 million and above. But because he’ll be unproven in the Premier League and has only played in the Ukraine Premier League, clubs may be skeptical of how that kind of talent and numbers would translate in England.
With plenty of money to spend after their recent — and continuing — garage sale, Tottenham have enough funds to offer an initial bid. What they do afterwards is up to them and whether getting into a bidding war is worth it. The talent is there, but does Daniel Levy feel like competing with Liverpool who have also been linked to the Ukraine international?
Next: Yannick Bolasie