Dynamo Kiev manager Mircea Lucescu is thrilled to see Vitaliy Mykolenko close in on a £20 million move to Premier League outfit Everton ahead of the January transfer window, speaking to UA Football.
Lucescu could be forgiven for feeling a little disappointed as one of his star players packs his bags and heads for the exit midway through the season.
Mykolenko, after all, is one of the first names on the team-sheet for a Dynamo side in danger of losing their league crown to rivals Shakhtar Donetsk.
The experienced Lucescu, however, is looking instead at the bigger picture.
Mykolenko’s £20 million move to Goodison Park, many have argued, represents a major boon for Ukrainian football, proof that the country can produce players capable of shining at the elite level.
Mykolenko, who is expected to become an Everton player at some point in January, will be one of a handful of Ukraine internationals plying their trade on the biggest of European stages, alongside Andriy Yarmolenko and Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskiy.
Will Vitaliy Mykolenko be a £20m bargain for Everton?
“I am glad that a young player from my team is now moving to Everton. I mean Mykolenko,” says Lucescu, who confirmed last week that the 22-year-old defender was on his way to Merseyside.
Mykolenko came through the ranks at Dynamo before establishing himself in the first-team. He will be replaced, Lucescu adds, by another homegrown youngster.
“Another 18 or 19-year-old footballer will take his place. The rest (of the players) in defence are 19 or 20-years-old,” adds Lucescu, who won eight UPL titles in 12 years at Shakhtar.
“Therefore, we will continue to play as a very young team.”
Everton appear to have won the race for his signature, however, in a move that raises plenty of questions about Lucas Digne’s future on the blue side of Stanley Park.
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