Ones to Watch: Yevhen Konoplyanka

Yevhen Konoplyanka caused quite the stir this week with his unflattering comments towards the Premier League: “If I was two-and-a-half metres tall and didn’t know how to control a ball then I may have gone to England,” the Ukranian winger said. He cited the importance of the technical side in Spain before finishing with the line all La Liga fans love to hear, “It’s the best,” just for good measure.

Despite a summer of constant flirtation with the possibility of moving to the country where you don’t even need to know how to control a ball - notably Tottenham, Liverpool and Stoke City – the explosive winger found himself outside the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium, shaking hands with fans after signing a deal with the back-to-back Europa League winners back in July.

He arrived from Dnipro after playing a key part in their rise to Europa League finalists, beaten by his new side of course, and with a glowing reputation for his fast, direct style of play with the ability to produce something special. Perhaps being a constant thorn in the side of Sevilla that night helped Monchi make up his mind about signing the player.

“What do I think of Konoplyanka? We’re talking about a very, very good player.” These are the words from his former coach at Dnipro Juande Ramos, who also has quite the history with Sevilla before moving to Tottenham. “Yevhen is a spectacular footballer, very quick, and he’s going to add even more speed to Sevilla’s attack.” After losing Aleix Vidal to Barcelona, Sevilla needed to act fast and in signing Konoplyanka they replaced the attacking threat Vidal carried almost instantly. The fact he cost nothing is even more incredible.

Throughout the summer there were rumours surrounding his signature such as his father and former club holding a stake in his economic rights, also that his representatives laid down demands that a lot of other teams baulked at. Some claimed that any interested party had to pay Dnipro a fee despite being out of contract. All unsubstantiated rumours of course, but it did come across as a complicated deal.

It probably didn’t help when his father came out to deny some of those rumours but then ended up putting his foot in it. “They said the club had given us a €1m house, that he’d (Konoplyanka) earn €4.5m per season and had a release clause of €35m.. all of which is completely untrue.” He then explained why his son had chosen Sevilla ahead of Atletico Madrid: “(the offer from) Atletico interested him but Sevilla is a club that works very well and serves as a springboard for its footballers to later join a bigger side. The main objective for Yevhen is to play for Barcelona in the future.” Oops.

Ramos has no doubts about the player himself though. “I coached him for four years and I can only say good things about him. I like his character. Yevhen is a good guy, disciplined and a hardworking, supportive in matches and training as well as out on the pitch.” No doubt Unai Emery, famous for demanding his players leave everything out on the pitch for him, found those words comforting at least in the midst of the player’s father’s declarations.

Although he was one of Sevilla’s biggest signings over the summer Konoplyanka is yet to start a match for new club, instead being used as a substitute in seven of Sevilla’s eight games so far this season. One can understand the desire to have someone as dangerous as Konoyplanka to come off the bench and attack tired legs, to ease him into a new league, but less so when the team is underperforming and the current starting XI aren’t doing enough to justify their place.

In his 210 minutes of action this season over La Liga, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup he has scored three goals, averaging one every 70 minutes. At the weekend he hit the winner from a freekick as Sevilla finally registered their first victory of the season. Juande Ramos and those that have come up against Konoplyanka will know what a fierce shot he’s got on him, too. The Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper was caught out by a quick-thinking Konoplyanka shot in Sevilla’s debut match in the Champions League.

There are other mitigating factors behind Konoplyanka’s gradual exposure to the team as well. He didn’t speak a word of Spanish when he arrived which, as you can expect, didn’t help. It’s a new country with new surroundings, a big difference to his native Ukraine where he’s lived and played since he was a child. Emery is also a fan of having pace on the bench. He rotated his wide options last season so that he always had an ace up his sleeve. Gameiro, despite doing well last season, was always preferred on the bench as opposed to the starting XI. This approach can perhaps become frustrating for a player but as we’ve seen Gameiro himself already this year, if you prove yourself you will be given a chance at some point.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Konoplyanka to start games fairly soon. His impact from the bench has delighted fans and it’s hard to justify his place on the bench when the team isn’t doing well. He might need to compromise on his starting position as club captain Jose Antonio Reyes currently occupies his favoured left wing role, but I can see him ousting Vitolo on the right instead.

A pacey winger with an eye for goal - what’s not to like? The early signs are that Konoplyanka will prove to be another great signing by Monchi. He’s proven his worth whenever presented with a chance and if he continues to perform once he is given a chance to play more, then who knows, maybe that dream of Barcelona will become a reality. As for now, he needs to help propel Sevilla back to the part of the table they belong and not hovering outside the relegation places.