Ihor Surkis: "It was not a joke that Shaparenko is worth 300 million"

Dynamo president Ihor Surkis expressed his opinion on the transfer value of the team's midfielder Mykola Shaparenko on Profootball Digital and told what he had discussed with Mircea Lucescu during the Ukrainian league match against Polissia.

- Igor Mikhailovich, is such a bright victory over Polissia important for you or do you think more about the gap between you and Shakhtar in the standings?

- First of all, I look at how the team is progressing. There are young guys playing in the team. Mircea Lucescu came to this match, and I was interested in how he sees the situation. He told me that the team is clearly progressing. The players have to play and progress, and we will look at the standings at the end of the season.

- Why did Lucescu decide to attend the match?

- The mister decided to watch the team play, he is interested in it. He gave these young guys a chance to play big football. Football is like that: if there is a result, it's good, if there is no result... Lucescu made this step himself. I want to emphasise that he understood that he had to leave for the team to progress. He is a very smart and wise man who has been in football for many years. I am very grateful to him for everything he has done for Dynamo.

- Who, in his opinion, has made the most progress?

- He likes: Shaparenko, Mikhavko, Popov. But he did not single out anyone in particular. Vanat has added a lot, Yarmolenko is Yarmolenko - his presence on the pitch is of great importance to us. And he will only add to it.

- Some time ago, you said that Shaparenko is worth 300 million. Was it a joke in some way?

- It was not a joke. I read that Sudakov is worth 150 million. It is possible. But if Sudakov is worth 150 million, then Shaparenko, when he gets his optimum condition, will be worth 300 million.

- Was it your first meeting with Lucescu this year?

- We met before - he came to the team's training camp in Turkey. Lucescu is very interested in how the team is progressing. We have a very good relationship, and we ended our cooperation with him in a very civilised manner.

- There is a lot of talk now about third-party incentives for rivals. What is your attitude as a club manager to this?

- I don't know who is stimulating whom. I know one thing: we must not lose our points. As for the talks about incentives, I don't know anything about that. If incentives are banned, then that's what will happen. There are 22 players on the pitch who play for their salary. We have to give bonuses to our players, not incentivise anyone.