http://www.theguardian.com/football...armolenko-manchester-city-england-dynamo-kyiv
Yarmolenko signed a new contract with Dynamo towards the end of last year but is ready for the next chapter of his career – if a club pays a fee that the Ukrainian side’s president, Igor Surkis, is happy with. “I would certainly like to prove myself at the highest level,” Yarmolenko says in a joint interview with the Guardian and
the Ukrainian website sportarena.com. “I watch the Premier League and La Liga regularly as they are the best leagues in Europe in my opinion. Although I have to say that English football holds the biggest attraction for me.”
Dynamo’s two Europa League games against Stoke City in 2011 furthered Yarmolenko’s interest in English football. “The focus is on physical battles while the tactical aspect is not as important,” he says. “It’s all about the entertainment and that’s why the stadiums are always sold out, that’s why they sign these multibillion TV deals. “Playing for such big crowds is what every player dreams about. I would like to do that week in and week out. It would be great to step into a stadium like that every three or four days. [That kind of atmosphere] is definitely something we lack here in Ukraine.”
He also has fond memories of the two games against Everton last March, when Dynamo went through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League 6-4 on aggregate. Before the game some British newspapers had questioned whether he would be a success in the Premier League should he join a club there but he responded by setting up the away goal in the first leg and scoring in the thumping 5-2 home win that sealed Dynamo’s progress. Yarmolenko says he was not bothered by the criticism: “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I know my strengths and weaknesses well but I’d rather speak for myself with what I do on the pitch.”
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“I will leave Dynamo for a club that can offer me an opportunity to make a step up. Dynamo is the club that made me the player I am. Also, I shouldn’t leave my team for free and I definitely shouldn’t put my relationship with the president and fans at risk. I signed the new contract [so that the club would get a fee]. I was the one who signed it, there was no pressure from the club. I’m sure that we would find a solution with the president if the club received a good offer.”
Does he have a favourite club he would like to join? “It’s a hard question to answer, especially without knowing the people at a club well. But Pep Guardiola seems like a nice man and a great coach … ”