In the latest edition of TaToTake, the host of the TV show Mykhailo Spivakovsky said that Shakhtar were close to transferring Brazilian Kevin for €15 million. The journalist also said that two Shakhtar players who are not really needed by Marino Pushic - Oleg Ocheretko and Bohdan Viunnyk - could join Dnipro-1.
Bohdan Viunnyk (right) and Maxim BragaruIn the summer of 2017, two coaches of the Dynamo Academy, Oleksandr Sytnyk and Volodymyr Samborskyi, joined the Shakhtar Academy. They were followed by four players, and then two more were added - Bohdan Viunnyk, Anthony Emere, Andriy Chiruk, Bohdan Dukhota, Kostiantyn Gurov and Yegor Pinchuk.
Samborsky and Sytnyk did not see any development in Dynamo's academy and wanted to earn money. They did not extend their contracts with Dynamo and signed with Shakhtar four days after they expired. They tried to keep the players, but failed.
Out of the six players, only Bohdan Viunnyk made it to the senior level. He is not a pure Dynamo player. He came to Kyiv in 2016 from Metalist together with Emere and Chiruk. Everyone remembers that football was difficult in Kharkiv back then. The greatest talents were taken away by other clubs - Andriy Mudryk and Mykhailo Mudryk went to Dnipro. Heorhii Sudakov went to Shakhtar.
By today's standards, Viunnyk is a good footballer. He is the second member of the Ukrainian youth team. He was at the youth Euro. In total, he has played 28 matches and scored 6 goals. A very decent figure that has room for improvement. He gained experience in Mariupol. After the war started, he played in the Swiss and Austrian leagues with Zurich and Grazer. I can't say that he failed there in any way. It's just that no one will develop someone else's players, and it's very expensive to buy players from Shakhtar. Even if we are talking about young players who are not needed by the first team.
Even when Shakhtar made a conscious move towards Ukrainianisation after the start of the war, they didn't see much of a prospect in Bohdan. Although, when Patrick van Leeuwen trusted him at the start of the season, his performance was normal - a goal and two assists in 6 matches and 170 minutes on the pitch.
Bohdan can play at the forefront of the attack, on the wings, or under the forward. At the youth level, he was more of a forward, but then he started playing more from deep. Viunnik has good speed and can be successful in a power tackle.
In recent years, Shakhtar have relied on foreigners in the attack. Only after the war broke out did Ukrainian players get their chance. Now we have returned to the Brazilian vector - young wingers from Brazil Eginaldo and Neverton, who are soon to be joined by Kevin. In attack, we have Ukrainian Danylo Sikan and two foreigners, Kevin Kelsey and Lassina Traore. Bohdan clearly needs to look for a new team.
No one can say for sure how Vyunnik's career would have turned out if he had stayed at Dynamo six and a half years ago. But he would definitely have had his chances. At the youth level, Bohdan stood out. It was clear that he would most likely reach professional football, but it was not clear in what status. The potential newcomer to Dynamo, Maxim Bragaru, is not a player of the highest status and level. Especially after the outbreak of war, every Ukrainian player is in good standing in Kyiv. The problems of wingers and forwards are very relevant for Dynamo. Therefore, he would definitely have his chances for the first team and stable playing practice.
Serhii Tyshchenko
