West Ham United winger Andriy Yarmolenko will not be leaving the Premier League for Russia during the summer transfer window, his agent told Zbirna.
After a season stuck on the sidelines at the London Stadium, the Ukraine international would certainly be forgiven if he fancied a fresh start.
Like Felipe Anderson, Sebastien Haller and co, Yarmolenko is one of a number of high-earning, underperforming players to have tumbled down the pecking order since David Moyes returned to the English capital, starting just one game as West Ham secured Europa League qualification in 2020/21.
Furthermore, with just 12 months left on his contract, you’d imagine the Hammers would rather cash in on a £115,000-a-week benchwarmer now than lose him on a free this time next year.
But, according to Vadim Shabliy, one potential destination can be ruled out already.
“The option with the transfer of Andrey Yarmolenko to a Russian club cannot even be discussed. Period,” the agent explained.
Reports in May suggested that West Ham were willing to terminate the final year of Felipe Anderson’s contract in order to get one of their biggest earners off the wage bill.
It remains to be seen whether the Hammers could take a similar approach with Yarmolenko, three years after his £17 million arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
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