Andriy Yarmolenko ‘95%’ sure he’ll leave West Ham in the summer
West Ham United winger Andriy Yarmolenko is almost certain that his time with the club will come to an end in the summer as his contract expires.
The Ukrainian international has been nothing more than a fringe player this season with the emergence of Jarrod Bowen in his position and it looks like the Englishman’s form has effectively forced Yarmolenko out of the club.
“I think 95% – I’ll leave,” the 32-year-old said in an interview with UA Tribuna. “West Ham have the option to extend for another year, but no one has contacted me about it. I am waiting for their decision in the next week or two.”
When asked about clubs who might be interested in signing him, the Irons player said: “Teams from the Turkish championship and teams from, say, warm countries – Saudi Arabia. There are options from Spain, Italy, but I think I have not decided yet. I’m not up to it now. It doesn’t matter where I end up.”
No big loss
We can all appreciate how tough the last couple of months have been for Yarmolenko and he’s done well to overcome the trauma of what’s happening in his homeland to play a part in this season’s run-in.
But the football club can’t afford to be sympathetic towards him regardless of all of the external factors because they need to assemble a potentially Champions League-level squad in the summer.
If they have any real ambition of challenging at that level, then they need to get rid of fringe players like Yarmolenko and bring in fresh faces with even more star quality.
He isn’t the only one who shouldn’t make the grade next season with Ryan Fredericks another who will see his current deal expire in June and he too has done nowhere near enough for a renewal.
It’s a shame to see such committed players be treated like this but in a cut-throat world, the Hammers have to do their own slashing to keep their upward trajectory going.
In other West Ham news, the club needs to protest this outrageous UEFA decision regarding the Europa League final if they make it there.
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