The media reports that Dynamo Kyiv is interested in Dnipro-1 midfielder Oleksandr Pikhalenko.
Oleksandr Pikhalonok. Photo — scdnipro1.com.ua
There is nothing surprising in this. «Dnipro-1 is currently going through a difficult time in terms of finances, so the club is forced to sell its leaders. At Dynamo, Oleksandr Andriyevskyi and Volodymyr Shepelev have not been making progress for a long time. Mykola Shaparenko may leave in the summer. Vitaliy Buyalsky is already over 30 years old. Another creative player in the middle of the field will be useful. Pikhalonok’s contract with Sportkliubov is valid for another season, so the price cannot be high.
Pikhalonok is adapted to life in Ukraine, to the UPL. There will be no problems with adaptation. Unlike the legionnaires, there will be no security issues. It turns out that an adapted player, not for all the money in the world, who can strengthen the team immediately.
In the spring, Oleksandr played very little because of an injury. Therefore, he is not even on the expanded list of the Ukrainian national team for the Euro. «Dnipro-1 failed in the second part of the season. There are no prerequisites for a move to a strong championship and a good club. For Pikhalenko, joining Dynamo is an opportunity to develop his career and financial stability. At the moment, this is the best option for the player. Sashko is 27 years old. It’s time to sign his best contract in his career.
The main problem is Shakhtar. Pikhalonok is a product of the Donetsk club. During his transfer to Dnipro-1, an option was written that the Pitmen had the right to the first night.
«Shakhtar do not need Pikhalonok at all. His position is filled by Heorhiy Sudakov, Artem Bondarenko and Dmytro Kryskiv. In the winter, they paid 15 million euros for the Brazilian Marlon Gomez. They give advances to Viktor Tsukanov. It is unlikely that Pikhalenok is stronger than the above players. He is just older. Take a player to the reserves so that he does not get to a competitor? There is some logic in this. But it is unlikely that Pikhalenok has the individual class to win trophies for Dynamo on the domestic scene alone.
The Miners’ managers like to repeat the phrase that without a strong Dynamo, there will be no strong Shakhtar. Perhaps it’s time to prove it with words, not deeds. There’s nothing wrong with a player from one club playing for a rival. The same Bohdan Mykhailichenko played for Shakhtar, assisted in a match against Real Madrid and won gold medals. Dynamo fans or club officials had no anger about this. Dynamo relied on Vitaliy Mykolenko for this position, and they paid good money for him. Now Konstantin Vivcharenko and Vladislav Dubinchak are competing with each other. It’s great that Bohdan has succeeded in another club. I am only happy for my own pupil. It means that the Academy is working.
I really hope that Shakhtar’s managers will not ruin the career of 27-year-old Pikhalenko and give him the opportunity to develop his own career. If they want to strengthen the team in the middle of the pitch, then in Italy there is Viktor Kovalenko, who is not needed by Atalanta, who was given even bigger advances than Pikhalenko. You can try to bring him back if you want.
Serhii Tyshchenko
