Chinese Super League club chasing West Ham match-winner
Chinese Super League side, Shandong Luneng, are reportedly interested in signing West Ham’s Ukrainian winger, Andriy Yarmolenko.
Andriy Yarmolenko has had mixed success since joining West Ham two seasons ago from Borussia Dortmund. The 30-year-old was one of Manuel Pellegrini’s first signings at the club and scored some crucial goals at the start of the 2018/19 season.
Two goals against Everton gave the Hammers their first points of the season. Yarmolenko was also instrumental in a famous victory against Manchester United before injury ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Yarmolenko faced a similar fate in the most reason Premier League season. At the start of the 2019/20 season, the winger scored goals against Norwich, Bournemouth and Manchester United were crucial in the team’s good start to the season.
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Things were going well until yet again, injury struck. When Yarmolenko returned, David Moyes was in charge, and he had to prove himself again. The Ukrainian did this in emphatic style, scoring a late winner against Chelsea to boost the club’s survival bid.
Now Yarmolenko has proven himself to be a vital member of the West Ham squad, and he has started to attract interest from China. The Hammers have lost a couple of players to the CSL, most notably Marko Arnautovic in 2019.
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The Ukrainian is one of the clubs top earners and considering his injury record, selling Yarmolenko could be a wise decision. Moyes has been forced to sell players to raise his own funds to sign players. Especially, if according to SkySports, Shandong Luneng can splash some of their cash on him.
This policy has seen fan favourite Grady Diangana leave, as well as Jordan Hugill, Albian Ajeti and Roberto have all moved on. There are yet to be any new players come into the club other than the permanent signing of Tomas Soucek.
The club also has plenty of options on the right side of midfield, so should not be starved of options should Yarmolenko leave. Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio, Robert Snodgrass and even Felipe Anderson can all play in the needed position.
If Yarmolenko was to be sold, the money brought in from his sale and money being saved on his wages could be added to Moyes’s budget. The manager wants to strengthen the defence and is currently chasing Burnley defender James Tarkowski.
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It would be a shame to lose Yarmolenko, a player with evident ability, but with the finances in need of a bump, he could be the next sacrificial lamb to help Moyes strengthen other areas of the squad.