Frank McAvennie says it’s ‘a shame’ that Andriy Yarmolenko will leave West Ham United
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie believes it’s ‘a shame’ that Andriy Yarmolenko will leave West Ham this summer when his contract expires as he didn’t get the chance to fight for a contract.
The club confirmed last week that the Ukraine international will leave the club in the summer after four years, with manager David Moyes opting not to renew his deal.
But after the ongoings in his homeland this season, McAvennie believes his head is ‘battered’ and says it’s stopped him getting the chance to earn a new deal to stay at the club beyond this season.
“Yeah I think the boy’s head is battered and you can see it because, if you think about what’s happened in his country,” he told West Ham Zone.
“I don’t know where the boy is going to go, it’s just a shame. There’s not much you can say about him.
“He’s been a good servant and he’s never got a chance to fight. This year was his chance to go and fight for a contract, and it must be horrible when you think what’s happening to your friends and family back home. It must be horrible situation the boy’s in.
“It’s a shame he’s not got another chance, another year on his contract. But he’ll get a club. Hopefully he doesn’t lose too many people and he can get on with his career.”
The club had been expected to let him leave anyway after he barely featured last season, and he found himself way down the pecking order, but that didn’t stop him scoring big goals when he was needed this year.
He grabbed an emotional winning goal against Aston Villa and then got the second in a 2-0 win over Sevilla back in March, but has featured for just 178 minutes since then.
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