Andriy Shevchenko wants a reunion with West Ham United’s Premier League benchwarmer Andriy Yarmolenko at Serie A strugglers Genoa, former Ukraine manager Yozhef Sabo tells Sport.
David Moyes has transformed Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna into two of the most reliable centre-halves in English football, Michail Antonio into a fearsome number nine, Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen into wingers capable of striking fear into even Liverpool’s backline.
But if there is one player who the West Ham manager has not been able to get the best out of at the London Stadium – well, expect the departed Sebastien Haller that is – it’s Yarmolenko.
A couple of impressive performances under Shevchenko at this summer’s European Championships had raised hopes that the Ukrainian international, who scored one of the goals of the tournament with his trusty left boot against the Netherlands, would finally come good in the English capital.
Instead, the former Borussia Dortmund winger has been restricted to just 52 minutes of Premier League table, failing to make a difference off the bench during Saturday’s frustrating 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And, according to Sabo, Yarmolenko could soon be linking up with a familiar face in Italy’s Serie A.
Is Andriy Yarmolenko leaving West Ham in January?
“As far as I know, Shevchenko wants to buy not only (Shakthar Donetsk defender) Mykola Matviyenko but also (Oleksandr) Zinchenko from Manchester City and Yarmolenko from West Ham,” said Sabo, who had two spells in charge of the Ukrainian national team in the 1990s.
How Sabo has come by this information is anyone’s guess.
But, given Shevchenko’s admiration for the £115,000-a-week veteran, it would be no surprise if Yarmolenko jumped at the chance to swap West Ham’s bench for a starring role under his former Ukraine boss.
32-year-old Yarmolenko was linked with a move to Turkey recently.
According to The Athletic, meanwhile, he is less than happy with his back-seat role at the London Stadium.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
