Ukrainians in the top championships. The 2022/23 season is the most representative in history

The transfer window in the strongest European leagues closes in a week. This January has already become one of the busiest in terms of transfers of Ukrainian players to top league clubs.

First Malinovsky to the great satisfaction of all parties, he changed Atalanta to Marseille – and immediately registered at the heart of the Provencal club.

Then the bomb exploded – with a Shyamalan twist, the history of the transition was resolved Mudrik to a London club…not the one everyone was thinking of. And Mikhail immediately made his debut in such a way that skeptics itched nervously. It looks like this guy is ready to tear apart the strongest league in the world. Here and now.

Immediately, with an elegant wave of the ribbons, the denouement of the long-term saga of leaving Tsygankova from Dynamo. He was nevertheless sheltered by Girona (the middle peasant of the Spanish Examples), who had been diligently trading the winger since the summer. Unlike Potter’s colleague, Michel Sanchez was in no hurry to play his newcomer, but verbally believes in Victor and promises him an early debut.

Before we had time to exhale, discuss, digest, like a new blow to the gong. What yesterday’s teammate Yaremchuk did not achieve, he just got Sable – the opportunity to play in one of the five leading championships of the Old World. For nothing that this is “only” a French outsider, although a club with a rich history.

Sobol’s game prospects (in Brugge he had little space on the field with any coach) is a separate conversation. On the face of it, they are good. The coach has just changed (before the end of the season, Etienne Stephan was replaced by acting Le Skornet), and most importantly, the main left lateral, the team captain Lienard, was injured at the beginning of the year. The place is free – take it and play! If only not to repeat the story of Ignatenko with the departure.

But that’s not all! In the remaining days before the deadline, Brighton is still trying to sign Matvienko. De Zerbi personally wants him eagerly. The club-seller has already made a backup in the form of Rakitskiy. The player himself agreed terms with seagulls. It seems that the transfer is already on the ointment!

Here is such a Ukrainian expansion in all (almost) top league areas. Our country has never had such an abundant representation in the “big five” clubs since… But no, everything is not simple here.

For starters, a table. She, in a truncated form, was presented in our material from April 2021. Recommended to refresh your memory!

Read: Ukrainians in the top championships: this season is one of the most successful

• * Left the club in the middle of the season
• ** Have not played in the championship yet
• *** Potential transfer

At once, seven of our fellow citizens managed to play for clubs from the two strongest football championships: Shevchenko, Voronin, A. Yakovenko, Konoplyanka, A. Kravets, Yarmolenko and Malinovsky. For the latter, perhaps, and this is not the limit. Suddenly, after all, the Premier League will call?

Nine in a season – so far a record

In the 2021/22 season, nine Ukrainian players appeared at once in the top divisions of Spain, Italy, England and France – and this was a repeat of the record of the 2016/17 season. Then at once five of ours showed up in the Bundesliga, three in the Example, and one more in Serie A. But that record list should be treated with skepticism.

Let’s take Ilya Bryukhov. The 18-year-old defender played for Cagliari in the Copa against Sampdoria in November 2016. Not impressed. And that is all. Then I wandered around the leases of the level of Series D. Now, in general, in amateurs.

Yurchenko played three matches for Bayer in the required season in the championship (one at the base) and one in the Champions League qualification (although he scored). The trio from Darmstadt is also not so hot. Berezovsky sometimes got into the application, but never came out. Oleinik played as many as 46 minutes throughout the season. And only Fedetsky could be considered semi-main. Like Konoplyanka in Schalke (he also managed to play for Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup).

Boyko played five times for Malaga (three times in La Liga). Zozulya has a total of 150 minutes with Real Betis. And only Artem Kravets ran decently for Granada: 26 fights, 5 goals, 2 assists. True, he did not save me from relegation (like Stuttgart a year earlier).

In other words, the record-breaking Ukrainian influx six years ago, in fact, left us the opportunity to regularly observe only three compatriots in the game. Two did not play at the championship level at all.

Last season the picture was more positive. At least everyone had practice. Supryaga limited himself to 24 minutes. Kukharevich, having gone out for Troyes twice, played even less. Lunin only at the very end of the season made his debut for the Blancos in the Example. Yarmolenko played little, but he also had an emotionally driven segment at the very beginning of the war. Mikolenko and Ignatenko were iron majors, the rest – plus or minus in half.

On the threshold of new achievements

In the summer of 2022 – the failure of Supryaga, the departure of Yarmolenko, the departure of Ignatenko, the new lease of Kukharevich – a repetition of the record seemed unthinkable. But as of today, you can already put a new one!

Okay, stop turning a blind eye to the elephant in the room. Last summer, for the first time since 2019, a player with a Ukrainian passport appeared in the Bundesliga. He plays very regularly… It’s a pity that this is Ordets. A man who, even though he did not play for Dynamo Moscow after 02/24/22, was ashamed to express his position, had fun at the club corporate party after the season, and remains on a contract with the Moscow club. In short, this native of Volnovakha is following Timoshchuk and the Russian ship.

Statistics, you say, is an impartial thing? If you still consider the mentioned creature as a Ukrainian, then an unconditional record will come out – at the same time 10 people in the top leagues. And in all five – this has never happened before.

But even without any orders it works well. Yes, Yarmolyuk has not yet made his debut in the championship, he plays mainly for Brentford B. But he has already played for the first team in the League Cup, he got into the application for Premier League matches; almost a whole circle ahead.

And if the transfer of Matvienko nevertheless takes place, we will observe a unique story. Until last season, there were never more than two Ukrainians in the English Premier League at the same time. And here five can happen at once!

Let’s summarize. Eduard Sobol is the 48th unique player with a Ukrainian passport in the top European championships. We’ll be celebrating our anniversary soon! Who will be 49th and who will be 50th? Your bets, gentlemen!