Everton are confident of wrapping up a deal for Vitaliy Mykolenko with the Ukrainian winter break making the Dynamo Kiev defender more ‘attainable’ than other options, as reported by The Athletic.
It looks increasingly likely that Mykolenko made his farewell Dynamo appearance during the 1-1 draw with Zorya Luhansk on December 12.
It will be February 26 the next time the reigning Ukrainian champions take to the field. By then, Mykolenko will surely be an Everton player.
Who knows, he might even be their first-choice left-back in two months’ time. That seems a given, if there is to be no patching up of that whole Lucas Digne-Rafa Benitez situation.
Everything pointed to Everton prioritising a new right-back next month.
Seamus Coleman remains the only senior option at Benitez’s disposal with Jonjoe Kenny out in the cold.
But with Digne falling out of favour too, the Toffees had little choice but to turn their attention to potential reinforcements on the opposite flank.
Everton are as sparse at left-back as they are at right-back.
And that, in itself, is a damning indictment of a £500 million splurge that promised much but has delivered less than a Royal Mail worker during a postal strike.
Why did Everton choose Vitaliy Mykolenko?
The Merseyside giants were linked with Anderlecht’s Sergio Gomez recently.
A swashbuckling Spain U21 international, Gomez represented Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund before joining forces with Vincent Kompany in Belgium.
According to The Athletic, however, the Ukranian Premier League’s two-and-a-half month hiatus made Mykolenko far more ‘attainable’ in the eyes of Everton.
Gomez’s Anderlecht, meanwhile, will be out of action for just two weeks.
Mykolenko, a Dynamo Kiev academy graduate, will sign a five-year deal at Goodison next month. Everton are set to pay around £20 million.
A Ukrainian agent claimed last week that Newcastle United had also expressed an interest before Everton moved into pole position.
After Jamal Lewis’ recent injury blow, and Matt Ritchie’s error-strewn performance against Manchester City, the Magpies will still be in the market for a new left-back, even if it isn’t to be Mykolenko.
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