Famous commentator Ihor Tsyhanyk reacted to the statements of his British colleague Callum Brennan, who considers Ukrainian Everton legionnaire Vitaliy Mykolenko the worst left-back in the Premier League.
Ihor Tsyhanyk— Considering all the injuries he had at the end of last season, first at the club and then with the national team, which nearly made him miss Euro-2024, Mykolenko was unable to fully prepare for the new campaign in the EPL.
In fact, before Euro-2024, I exchanged a few SMS with Mykolenko, wanted to support him before the matches in Germany, because I understood that he was suffering a lot, wanting to go to the Euros. So, 90% of players in the situation Vitaliy found himself in would have given up. They would say, «My leg hurts, I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going to the Euros». They would think it's much more important to play for the club and properly prepare for the new season. But what did Myko do? He went to the national team and suffered a recurrence in a friendly match against Moldova, then he recovered for a long time. Ultimately, he played only one match in the Euro against Belgium. He didn’t solve the problem, he didn’t fully treat the injury, but only patched it up. That's why he has problems this season.
Mykolenko needs to recover fully and, God willing, in the summer he will have a break, take care of his health and be in full readiness for the next season, playing at 100%.
Well, as for the conceded goals… Once it happened under him, twice. Such things happen, but goals can be scored against any defenders. There are no sinless defenders. The fact that Everton concedes too many goals is not solely Vitaliy's fault, it’s a problem for the entire team. Of course, if one wants, they can pick on Mykolenko — but that won't be objective. Football is a team game, however banal that may sound.
In general, against the backdrop of Maguire from Manchester United, who regularly makes mistakes, Mykolenko is a great defender, but for some reason no one criticizes Harry for his game.
Everton really struggled last season when points were deducted from the team for breaching financial fair play, and I have no idea where Sean Dyche (the head coach of the Toffees) found motivation for his players. Nevertheless, Mykolenko played at a very good level throughout this time.
I have known Vitalik personally for several years, he has a very «sharp» character. He is a stubborn lad who always fights. Myko's main asset is stability. With it, he compensates for the rest of the flaws. Luzhny was once a «two-stranded» player, and now there is Mykolenko,» said the expert.
