Viktor Kovalenko, the Ukrainian midfielder of Italian side Empoli, has spoken about the prospects of the player's first coach, Volodymyr Volodin.
Віктор Коваленко"Vitya had a good run at Spezia, he brought some benefit to the team, helping them to stay in Serie A in their first season. Now at Empoli he is doing well. Yes, there was a difficult period with adaptation, with injuries, but do not think that it is so easy to move to another country without knowing the language and immediately play.
At the time he joined Atalanta (in 2021 - ed.), we didn't have so many players in Europe. Not everyone decided to make such transfers back then. Most players wanted to stay in their clubs, get a big (for those times) salary and not change anything in their lives. However, Kovalenko decided to take this step and is now proving through his work that he has not yet said the last word.
Will Kovalenko return to the Ukrainian national team? He really wants to. Viktor is a very ambitious person and footballer, so this challenge is very important for him. In general, our national team is very strong in terms of names and clubs they play for. It should be noted that Kovalenko has serious competitors in the centre of the pitch, but he certainly has a chance," Ukrainian Football quoted Volodin as saying.
It will be recalled that Kovalenko has been playing for Empoli since last September on a loan deal that runs until the end of this season. The 28-year-old has played 11 matches for his current team and has one goal and one assist.
