Andriy Yarmolenko: A hole that needs filling or a flood that’s been leaked?

Those that saw West Ham’s latest video of Andriy Yarmolenko’s so-called ‘best moments’ in his debut match against Wycombe Wanderers would have been left wondering if any of his ‘best moments’ had been shown at all.

They would have been left wondering this as the video was nothing more than a montage of the Ukrainian passing the ball backwards and chasing his first touch.

It was a surprising transfer as the winger had been brought in to fill the void that was left by Ousmane Dembele.

Of course, it was not a like for like replacement, they are after all completely different players who offer different skills, Dembele offering pace and dynamism down the right wing, while Yarmolenko is a lot stronger and is arguably better at cutting in onto his favoured left side.

Dortmund’s signing of the Ukrainian was a statement of intent and a statement that they will have to change.

Losing a player like Dembele can be devastating for a club especially as there are very few players like the Frenchman around, so Yarmolenko represented a change in tactics and philosophy.

No more could they rely on the pace of Dembele in attack and defence, they had to change.

Dortmund were not working the channels as much and became more direct.

They always had pace up front, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the first attacking outlet but was then replaced by Michy Batshuayi, after the Gabonian forward had left to join Arsenal.

Yarmolenko is a very intelligent footballer who always seems to have a good understanding and natural chemistry with the striker who is ahead of him.

He is exceptionally good at cutting in using the striker almost like a basketball backboard to play a ‘one-two’ off.

His vision and intelligence is also of a high level and goes far in explaining how he got more assists than goals in a Borussia Dortmund shirt.

However, while many will point out his selflessness and the fact that his always looking to play in a teammate rather than find the net himself, the cynic will point to his underwhelming record of only scoring three goals in the Bundesliga.

Afterall, an attacker will always be measured by the goals they score and his record was far from outstanding.

Yarmolenko is evidently a very talented footballer and his goal against Tottenham in the Champion’s League backs up his ability.

And that is why the Ukrainian was so frustrating in Germany because he has these skills in his locker but yet struggles to do it on a regular basis.

His move to West Ham arouses a lot of curiosity and it will be interesting to see how he fits in.

Manuel Pellegrini is known for his ultra attacking philosophy and he currently possesses a potent attacking line of Marko Arnautovic, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko.

This is certainly an attacking line that will have Hammers fans drooling and who knows, it may even make them forget about the London Stadium.

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