Mykola Shaparenko became one of the symbols of Dynamo's championship in the 2020/21 season. Mircea Lucescu moved the player from the attacking midfield position to the supporting area. Here Shaparenko showed his best. He became one of Dynamo's leaders and began to play consistently for the national team.
Mykola Shaparenko. Photo by O. PopovLast autumn's injury crossed out all of Shaparenko's previous achievements. The midfielder actually missed last season. In the new season, things are no better. At the end of August, he got injured and hasn't been able to recover from it. Serhii Rebrov did not include him in the Ukrainian national team's application for the matches in October. At the very least, Shaparenko's return will have to wait until after the window for national team matches. There are some doubts that he will be able to get back into shape by the end of the first round. All hope is that during the winter training camp Mykola will be able to gain game and physical condition.
Shaparenko is not only the team's leading player, but also the club's asset. Among today's squad, he can potentially be sold at the highest price. Mykola's contract with Dynamo is valid until the end of next season (it is very strange that it expires on 30 September, when the transfer window is already closed). In early November, he will be 25 years old. If he doesn't change teams in the next calendar year, it will be very difficult to count on a serious career in Europe.
This season will be crucial for Nikolay. If he comes even close to the form he had in the 2020/21 season and has the opportunity for a good transfer next summer, either at best we will see a repeat of Vitaliy Buyalsky's fate or at worst a "new Garmash" and a long list of others.
"Dynamo also needs to make up its mind. The contract is not that long. The situation with Tsygankov should teach us something. If we offer a new one, it will actually be until the player turns 30. There are a lot of risks here.
In my humble opinion, the best time for the transfer was the summer of 2021. Shaparenko played in the Champions League and the Europa League with the national team and reached the Euro quarter-finals. Realistically, we could have counted on 20 million. Now he is older, has suffered a serious injury and cannot get fit. If nothing changes, then only co-ownership of the rights can somehow save the situation.
Sergey Tishchenko
