Everton face Vitalii Mykolenko question with claims over transfer interest

A report claims that Everton left-back Vitalii Mykolenko has been attracting interest from clubs in Spain and Italy

Everton tied James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford down to new contracts this month. But should Vitalii Mykolenko be next on the list?

Tarkowski, who is the Blues’ de facto leader on the pitch given that club captain Seamus Coleman has made just three Premier League starts since the beginning of last season, penned a deal until the summer of 2028 on October. Meanwhile, Pickford, the second longest serving player at the club, committed himself until 2029 on October 16.

The ECHO understands that midfielder James Garner is now Everton’s priority when it comes to a new contract but with Mykolenko’s current deal also due to expire at the end of the current season, the Ukraine international is approaching a significant period.

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This week, Mykolenko found himself the subject of BBC Sport’s Football Gossip Column as the outlet cited Footmercato as reporting that he is attracting interest from clubs in both Spain and Italy.

The article, written in French, doesn’t mention any names specifically but claims that “several” sides in La Liga and Serie A “are closely monitoring the player’s situation.”

The piece adds: “Under contract until June 2026, with an option for an additional year, Mykolenko remains in Everton’s plans for the time being. According to our information, the English club has no plans to part ways with him in the short term, unless a particularly attractive offer is made.”

The Blues have a policy of not discussing contract clauses, so it remains unclear just how pressing Mykolenko’s situation is. But given that he cost the club £17million from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2022, even if Moyes to upgrade in the left-back area going forward, it would be a prudent move for the club to protect the value of their asset.

The 26-year-old has made 129 Everton appearances so far and has played more than 30 times in all competitions in each of his three full seasons on Merseyside.

For the best part of the previous two seasons, Mykolenko had no natural rivals in his area, with Ashley Young, the club’s oldest ever outfield player, often deputising at left-back when he was unavailable.

On July 29, Everton signed Bayern Munich left-back Adam Aznou for an undisclosed fee, understood to be in the region of £8million.

Although the Morocco international has an impressive pedigree given that he started his career at Barcelona, and Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl expressed regret that the Bundesliga giants were unable to retain his services, the 19-year-old still looks like he has a lot to learn in English football.

Speaking on September 26 in his pre-match press conference to preview the game against West Ham United, Moyes was asked about Aznou, who is yet to feature in a competitive first-team match, being left on the bench for the Carabao Cup exit at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

And he said: “He’s got a bit to do before he’s probably going to be ready for the first team at the moment but we were aware of that when we brought him in.”

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