Year of progress: Why Yarmolyuk is the driving force behind Ukraine's future successes.
The champion dedicates this material to a footballer who has made headlines not only in his homeland but also in the land of football's origins. We explain why the time has come for Brentford midfielder Yegor Yarmolyuk.
The most talented footballer of his generation?
The Ukrainian U21 national team has had a successful year. The team under Spanish coach Unai Melgosa confidently qualified for Euro-2025 and showcased their skills and potential in matches against top opponents in their age category. Given the solid selection of players alongside the Spaniard, it’s no surprise that they achieved impressive results. Ruslan Neshcheret, Arsenii Batagov, Ilya Krupskyi, Ihor Krasnopir, Maksym Khlan, Oleksandr Yatsyk, Ilya Kvasnytsia – these are just the most notable names of those who played alongside Yegor. Until recently, 20-year-old Yarmolyuk was also part of the U21 team. However, against the backdrop of the aforementioned teammates and other players, Yegor stood out not just for his club affiliation.
In Melgosa's team, the number of foreign players representing leagues stronger than the UPL can be counted on one hand. Besides Yarmolyuk, there’s Batagov from Turkish Trabzonspor and, with some stretch, Khlan, Tsarenko, and V'yunnik from the Polish Ekstraklasa. However, none of them have the opportunity to grow alongside clubmates representing the strongest league in the Old World and the world overall. This is why Yarmolyuk's autumn "transfer" to the main national team was not only logical but had been anticipated for some time.
Gradual development with relentless progress
When English Brentford bought Yarmolyuk for 1.5 million euros in July 2022, hardly anyone in the EPL paid attention to this transfer. And indeed – Yegor, as expected, found himself in the second team of a modest club by the standards of the best league. Even making the matchday squad for the first team of the “Bees” was an event for Yarmolyuk.
0It was clear that the Ukrainian was not a super talent with extraordinary natural abilities ready to stun in the EPL right away. However, in Yegor's case, patience combined with hard work bore fruit. With his initial game minutes in crucial matches in the most prestigious Premier League came the first high ratings from the British press, pleasant comments from the head coach, and a steady increase in market value. The latter, in the context of heightened competition in professional football, is one of the most important factors. Yarmolyuk has been steadily increasing in value since his first day in the Foggy Albion, and over 2.5 years, his worth has risen by more than 12(!) times. Currently, Yegor has 46 matches for Brentford's first team, with his highest career achievement being 4 consecutive starts for the "Bees," 3 of which were in EPL matches.
A timely emergence during the fading stars of Malinovskyi and Zinchenko
Yarmolyuk's call-up to the national team coincided with unexpected problems for the "blue-yellow" squad in the midfield. The case of Taras Stepanenko in the defensive zone is a separate conversation; we are more interested in the position where Yegor can be beneficial to his country in the near future.
1Even at Euro-2020, which was postponed for a year due to the pandemic, the capabilities and level of Ruslan Malinovskyi and Oleksandr Zinchenko were beyond doubt. In fact, it seemed that stars from clubs in Europe’s top leagues had "reserved" spots in midfield above the defensive midfielder position for many years to come. However, both had lackluster performances in the qualifying rounds for the 2022 World Cup, and in the qualification for the 2024 continental championship, they were far from their best. Thus, slowly but surely, the coverage of arguably the strongest players by name and function available for the Ukrainian national team turned into an unexpected problem. The search for an optimal solution is still ongoing, as the reliance on Mykola Shaparenko and Heorhii Sudakov has only partially justified itself. So it’s no surprise that the resolution of the puzzle, which affects both the effectiveness of transitioning from defense to attack and successes near the opponents' goal, is evidently still a work in progress for Rebrov.
Yarmolyuk – Rebrov's key bet in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers?
In such a situation, the use of Brentford's midfielder as a real, rather than an ephemeral combat unit in the midfield has become necessary. Yes, Yarmolyuk did not debut for the national team in the autumn Nations League matches, although his "colleague" from the youth team, Oleksii Sych, got that opportunity. Meanwhile, the situation for the "blue-yellow" team in the midfield has not improved at all.
2As before, Ukraine lacks not only creative solutions in the phase of delivering the ball to the center forward and wingers but also bold ideas regarding the completion of attacks by the central midfielders. Yarmolyuk has the potential to improve the national team's performance in each of these aspects of the game as early as next year.