In the match against "Chornomorets", 19-year-old Roman Salenko debuted in the "Dynamo" lineup. He is the son of the top scorer of the 1994 World Cup, Oleg Salenko.
Roman Salenko. Photo — Yu. YurievI am very happy for Roma. I am very glad that young Salenko stepped onto the field for some minutes and not the conditional Oleksandr Andriyevskyi or Volodymyr Shepeleyev. This will definitely be more beneficial for the club. There is definitely potential here.
Roman Salenko joined "Dynamo" in 2021 from Vyshgorod’s "Dinaz", where he spent 3 years. This club can be considered part of the "Dynamo" orbit. Roman’s teammate at "Dynamo U-19" Andriy Matkevych was also there. In general, the 2005 generation at "Dinaz" was quite interesting — Ivan Yermachkov ("Werder"), Timur Tutyerov ("Sunderland").
In Vyshgorod, Salenko played as a forward. There's nothing surprising about it, considering his father's position. Once he got to "Dynamo", Ihor Kostiuk saw him as an insider. Roman is very well-built physically. He has physical strength. He can do a lot of work in pressing. He has a good shot. He scored a wonderful goal against "Karpaty" at the start of the season.
Saleko certainly has character. The transition from a forward position to midfield was difficult. Not everything went well, not everything was liked. Roman was able to overcome himself. To accept new requirements. I know that his father got involved in certain processes. He did not like the change of his son’s position.
This is a player of early development. Sturdy, matured. Unfortunately, there are many injuries. Last winter he did not join the training camp due to injury. There are plenty of injuries. Because of this, he cannot always play. With age, this should pass. There will be more muscles.
I was very pleasantly surprised that last spring after the "Dynamo" — "LNZ" match, I saw Roman on bus 43. I saw him several times in the subway near the "Akademmistet" station. He’s a very simple guy without all the excess.
Last summer, there was serious interest from one of the UPL clubs. There was a year left on his contract. The player decided to sign a new 5-year deal with the capital club. His right. There was no talk of a loan because he was expected in the UEFA Youth League.
But Roman definitely needs to move towards adult football. It will be very difficult, or even unrealistic, for him to win the competition in the first team. Even if Andriyevskyi and Shepeleyev leave in winter, stable playing is needed for consistent progress. Mykola Shaparenko, Oleksandr Pykhalyonok, Vitaliy Buyalskyi, Valentyn Rubchynskyi — the competition is fierce.
I can assume that in winter, Roman will go to training camp with the first team. He needs to win the competition. I am not sure that it is possible. Most probably the perspective to realistically compete for the first team of "Dynamo" will be in a year or two. I can predict that after Oleksandr Yatsyk returns from loan, it will be Salenko who will go for adult football in "Zorya". And for now, it will be necessary to defend the championship title in the youth championship and perform well in the UEFA Youth League. The chances of progressing to the next stage next year are very good.
Sergiy TYSHCHENKO
