Romanian journalist Emanuel Roşu has spoken about the prospects of Ukrainian winger Yevhen Konoplyanka at Cluj and the Romanian league.
It will be recalled that Konoplyanka joined Cluj from Polish side Krakow this summer as a free agent. However, during this time, the 34-year-old Ukrainian played only 19 minutes for the Romanian team in two matches, and then dropped out of the squad due to injury.
- Emanuel, I would like to know your opinion about Yevhen Konoplyanka. What do they say about him in Romania, what is your opinion of him?
- He's officially injured, the club doesn't give much information about his situation. He has played only a few minutes since he joined the team and hasn't made much of an impression. In Cluj, they talk about a similar scenario with the former Real Madrid and Brazilian national team striker Julio Baptista, who came, got a big salary, and then retired.
- What do you think is Konoplyanka's problem? He didn't get enough playing time at Cluj even before his injury.
- He didn't come ready. "Cluj" did not want to release him too early in the matches. They started with difficult games, they had to qualify for the Conference League, which they ultimately failed to do. So the coach used in the matches only those who showed the best physical fitness, and Konoplyanka's fitness was not up to scratch.
- Can we already call Konoplyanka a failure of Cluj in the transfer market and the main disappointment of the Romanian championship?
- I don't think so. We need to give him time. When he comes back from injury, only then will we be able to really evaluate him.
Andrii Piskun