Andriy Yarmolenko is ‘95 per cent’ certain that he will leave Premier League high-flyers West Ham United, telling UA Tribuna that there is interest from La Liga and Serie A.
Football has a funny habit of throwing up Hollywood moments now and again.
And when the ball rebounded straight into Yarmolenko’s path during the 112th minute of West Ham’s Europa League round-of-16 clash with Sevilla, it felt like fate had intervened. A deflection shrouded in destiny.
Yarmolenko, as you’d expect, has been hit hard by Russia’s invasion of his Ukranian homeland.
And it just so happens that the biggest, most iconic moment of his West Ham career came on an evening in which the London Stadium was adorned in blue and yellow, showing their support for a nation under threat.
Where will Andriy Yarmolenko play next season?
Yarmolenko’s contract expires in July.
And the former Borussia Dortmund winger will depart with the goodwill of everyone at the London Stadium. That wondrous winner against Sevilla made sure of that.
“I think that 95 per cent, I will leave,” explains Yarmolenko, a £17 million signing in the summer of 2018.
“West Ham have the option of an extension (on my contract) for another year. But no one contacted me about this. I look forward to their decision in the next week or two.
“If not, my agent will deal with the issue of my future employment. We’ll see what the options are.”
Yarmolenko’s representative admitted in late-2021 that there was a ‘lot of interest’ in his enigmatic, 32-year-old client. A move to Serie A strugglers Genoa appears to be a non-starter now, however, following the departure of Yarmolenko’s former Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchenko in January.
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“Teams from the Turkish Championship and teams, let’s say, from warm countries (are interested),” explains Yarmolenko. “Saudi Arabia. There are options from Spain and Italy too, but I still think I have not decided. It doesn’t really matter where I end up.
“Before the war, I thought about returning to Dynamo Kiev. Now, no one knows what will happen to the country in general. If there is no championship, then where can I return to?
“If I have to choose between money and a club that gave me everything, I would choose the club.”
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