Artem Besedin is one of the most controversial figures in the current Dynamo squad. Around him, verbal battles often arise in the fan and expert environment, which boil down to banal attempts to find out how much the Kiev team needs such an attacker, or whether the benefit from him is so insignificant that it is time to make cardinal personnel decisions.
Artem BesedinHowever, it was possible to criticize or discuss Besedin's performances for as long as you like, but Dynamo still had no more or less serious options with the striker's employment in another team. At least until recently, because now the situation seems to be changing and Besedin may leave the White-Blue camp in January.
According to rumors, Azerbaijani Qarabag, as well as Turkish Kasimpasa and Sivasspor are showing interest in the 26-year-old center forward. The latter even allegedly agreed on the terms of a personal contract with Besedin himself, but has not yet started negotiations with the leadership of Dynamo. However, apparently, in this situation, the Turks are ready to talk exclusively about leasing the Ukrainian striker until the end of the season, which may include a buyout option.
Besedin himself, judging by the available information, would not mind changing the team and the championship right now. Artem is interested in trying his hand at a new league, getting to know the atmosphere there from the inside and just trying to restart his career, which now seems to be going downhill.
The situation with Besedin was extremely difficult before, as the striker was reproached for his low performance, however, it was extremely aggravated last summer, when Artem was seriously injured in the Ukrainian national team at Euro 2020. The forward was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament of the knee, for which reason he was out of action for more than six months. When Besedin was planning to return to the field, there was a full-scale invasion of Russian armed forces on the sovereign territory of Ukraine, due to which the UPL-2021/22 turned out to be underplayed, and the players of almost all teams were left without serious game practice.
As a result, it so happened that in the last draw of the Ukrainian Premier League, Besedin did not play a single match, and the pause between matches in the domestic championship for the forward stretched for more than a year - from May 9, 2021 to August 28, 2022.
It is not surprising that in this situation the forward began to experience serious problems, obviously, of a psychological nature. This resulted in the fact that in 20 matches in all tournaments in which Dynamo started in the 2022/23 season, Besedin failed to score a single goal ... Just think - 1075 minutes on the field and 0 goals! For a center forward, this is a disaster, no matter how anyone talks about other potential benefits that a football player can bring to his team.
Realizing the situation, Dynamo head coach Mircea Lucescu began to trust young Vladislav Vanat much more time, who managed to score 6 goals in 24 matches in all tournaments this season. Besedin, who for several years was the No. 1 forward in the Kyiv team, gradually faded into the background, and his immediate prospects at Dynamo seem very vague.
It is obvious that it is precisely for this reason that transfer rumors, albeit rather modest in scale, but still transfer rumors began to swarm around Besedin. The situation is simple and understandable for all parties: the forward wants to get more playing practice and understand that they are counting on him, which will allow him to relieve the burden of responsibility and, probably, play more productively, and the club cannot afford to bet on an attacking player who does not able to perform the main task - to score goals.
It would seem that a transfer to the conditional "Sivasspor" in this situation would be useful for everyone, but this is not at all the case. For Dynamo, this transition should be seriously considered only if it is a full-fledged deal. Lease of Besedin with a high degree of probability will become a transfer liability for the White-Blues, which earlier the Kiev team should have learned from the story with Denis Garmash...
In January 2020, Garmash, who was not in demand in the tactical layouts of the then head coach of Dynamo Oleksiy Mikhailichenko, left the camp of Kiev on loan to Rizespor. At that time, this deal seemed like an ideal opportunity for the football player to reboot in another championship, and for Dynamo to try to sell the player who was unclaimed in the first team soon. But in fact, Rizespor, for which Garmash played 16 matches and scored 3 goals, refused to negotiate a full buyout of the Ukrainian, and Dynamo did not receive any other proposals for him. Denis returned and a year later he had a very decent season, but then again somehow quickly faded away, and now it is difficult to call him a key player in the Kyiv team, although for the purposes of rotation he is still in demand from Mircea Lucescu.
In general, one can recall not so many successful cases with Turkish clubs, when a loan later led to a full-fledged buyout of a football player, and this applies not only to a few Ukrainians, but also to players of other nationalities. This is because the local Super League is too volatile and difficult to predict. Club management often changes, and new bosses bring different values and philosophy, which is why none of the Turks, even among the giants, has yet been able to build a fundamental project. There, the emphasis is on "here and now", and what will happen in two or three years is a question for the next leaders...
What benefit can Dynamo gain in this situation by lending Besedin? It’s hard to say, because even if Artem turns out to be more or less successful in Turkey, the White-Blues will hardly be able to make money on the summer transfer in 2023. Here, another case that the UPL club has is indicative - the Nigerian Olarenwaju Kayode from Shakhtar, who spent a fairly good season first for Gaziantep, and then played quite steadily for two years in the same Sivasspor, but neither the first nor the second and did not convert the rental into a full transfer. Now Kayode has ended up somewhere in non-existence, and his present is shrouded in mystery and darkness...
In addition, Besedin's contract with Dynamo runs until the end of 2024. At that time, the forward will already be 28, which is why it’s far from a fact that Artyom can count on a new long-term deal, which is worth it. Offering Besedin to extend cooperation before the loan, so as not to lose the player in vain, is also seen by Dynamo as a very risky move. Again, returning to the situation with Garmash, the White-Blues must draw conclusions from their previous not entirely logical decisions. When in January 2018 Dynamo extended the contract with 27-year-old Garmash for six years, it is unlikely that anyone in the club thought that in a year this player would not be needed by the coaching staff, and he would urgently have to look for a new club, agreeing even for rent.
Also, the leaders of Dynamo should take into account the personnel situation in the team, where in the cohort of forwards, Lucescu has by no means a great choice - in addition to Besedin and Vanat, they are also Kulach and Supryaga, and the latter also spent more than six months off the field, healing the injury. And of these four attackers, it is Besedin who is able to give out maximum contact work - according to statistics, Artem has under 30 martial arts per match, while for the rest of his competitors this indicator barely exceeds 20...
Martial arts are not at all a determining factor for the forward, but it should be understood that the excellent performance and work in the penalty area, which attacking midfielder Vitaliy Buyalsky has shown in recent years, largely depends on the competent actions of the center forward, which can distract attention from the defenders of the opposing team . The same Besedin knows how to take away guardians, thanks to which space is freed up for Buyalsky, and he can feel more comfortable in someone else's penalty area.
Therefore, in a hurry to get rid of Besedin, whose performance does not suit Dynamo fans now, the people of Kiev should not at least until they find and sign a better striker. Not another Fran Sol, who can only be useful in club scout reports, but a specific performer who gives the White-Blues more efficiency, expressed in the number of goals scored. Does Dynamo have such a player in mind right now? The question, as they say, with an asterisk, because it is unlikely that it will be possible to invite a good legionnaire to Ukraine now, and there are not many options in the native UPL that should be considered by the White-Blues as an alternative to Besedin.
And if there is no alternative, then changing something just for the sake of the process itself is extremely doubtful fun. Rather, there will be no benefit, and then criticism will still catch up - they say, why was it necessary to remove the conditional Besedin, if the same ineffective "Mr. X" was taken in his place. Moreover, the people of Kiev are unlikely to be able to get this “Mr. X” on loan, so that later they can safely get rid of it and not fulfill long-term obligations under the contract. Otherwise, they managed to recruit goalscorers even earlier - the same Fran Sol, Ibrahim Kargbo and Erik Ramirez still have full-fledged contracts with Dynamo, but it turns out that there is no one to play now ...
Alexey Slivchenko
