Andriy Yarmolenko: West Ham in talks with Dynamo Kyiv over summer transfer | OneFootball

David Moyes is right to try and sell Andriy Yarmolenko this summer amid claims that West Ham United are in talks with Dynamo Kyiv over such a move.

What’s the word?

According to Pedro Almeida, Dynamo Kyiv are keen to be reunited with the 31-year-old and want to welcome the forward back to the Ukrainian Premier League at the end of the season.

Yarmolenko played 340 games for the Ukrainian club between 2007 and 2017, before joining Borussia Dortmund, where he only lasted one year. West Ham bought him one season after his arrival at Signal Iduna Park for £17.5m and awarded the winger a four-year contract, which is set to enter its final 12 months this June.

The 31-year-old could now make a return to the club where he made a name for himself, with West Ham claimed to be in active negotiations with Dynamo Kyiv over a potential deal. Yarmolenko has seen his future in claret and blue be cast into doubt over recent months, with reports earlier in the year suggesting that bids of between £5m and £6m would be considered.

The Hammers are thought to have accepted that a sizable hit on the fee paid to Borussia Dortmund will need to be taken in order to move Yarmolenko on at the end of the season.

Should West Ham sell Yarmolenko?

It remains to be seen what terms Dynamo Kyiv are able to offer West Ham for Yarmolenko’s services, but Moyes is absolutely right to make the winger available for a transfer ahead of the Ukraine international entering the final year of his Irons contract.

Yarmolenko has been a consistent injury risk for the Hammers since his arrival in 2018, having missed 57 games and counting across all competitions due to various issues including Achilles, back, abductor and knee ligament damage.

The forward returned to training prior to the March international break but is yet to feature in one of Moyes’ matchday squads since, and he has only started eight first team fixtures – one in the Premier League – over 21 appearances thus far this term.

Those eight starts still account for more than a third of Yarmolenko’s career opening calls in claret and blue, having started just 23 matches in all competitions across his 53 appearances over the past three seasons.

West Ham are paying out a lot of money for Yarmolenko to frequently occupy a seat on the bench when not in the treatment room, with the forward – who Moyes lauds as “a very talented player” – the Irons’ top earner on a £115,000-a-week contract, per Spotrac.

That salary has seen West Ham hand over £16.4m in wages over Yarmolenko’s 143 weeks at the London Stadium thus far, which – added with the £17.5m paid to Dortmund – equates to £1.5m for each start or £640,000 per appearance.

Yarmolenko has simply been stealing a living at West Ham, who need to call time on his spell at the club this summer. It just remains to be seen how much they can recoup from Dynamo Kyiv, or whether another suitor may be willing to show an interest.

AND in other news, David Moyes eyes a summer reunion with £75k-p/w enforcer who looked “like he’s on roller-skates” in 2020…