"Konoplyanka will not return to Ukraine - coach

Yevhen Konoplyanka's first coach, Yuriy Kevlych, spoke about his pupil's likely continuation of his football career.

- Now it will be difficult for Yevhen to find a strong, ambitious team. He won't return to Ukraine, and his prospects abroad are limited by his age. In general, Yevhen has not fulfilled his potential in football. Still, he is a unique player from whom it is impossible to take the ball away.

Unfortunately, Konoplyanka made several mistakes. The first was when he moved from Dnipro to Spanish side Sevilla in 2015, rather than to the English Championship. The second mistake was his move from German side Schalke to Shakhtar Donetsk. Konoplyanka found himself in a kind of "Brazilian meat grinder", and it was difficult for him to compete with foreigners in whom Shakhtar had invested huge amounts of money.

Yevhen had hoped to reach his high level again in 2022, agreeing to sign a deal with Polish side Krakowia just for the sake of playing practice in order to return to the Ukrainian national team. The play-off game against Wales could have been a turning point for him. At that time, coach Oleksandr Petrakov gave Yarmolenko a chance, but forgot about Konoplyanka. "Yevhen, however, was waiting for a challenge and was ready to help," said the coach.