Why Leicester should sign Dynamo Kyiv’s Viktor Tsygankov

A word of caution for Leicester City

Such a purchase would certainly have a great chance of reward, but also carries some risk. Ultimately, all transfers have an element of risk; for every N’Golo Kante, you also have an Ahmed Musa, with all due respect. Tsygankov is a player who dazzles, yet is also prone to injuries; limiting him to just 20 appearances for Dynamo Kyiv last season.

Without a clear indication of concrete bids for the Ukrainian, it’s also difficult to guess his potential price, although Transfermarkt value him at £22.5m. With COVID affecting all clubs’ finances, it may be possible to strike a deal around £25m, especially after his indifferent Euros performance. This would be a sizeable fee, but Tsygankov clearly has a high ceiling and potentially a much higher resale value than an older option such as Berardi.

Whilst Tsygankov didn’t set the world alight at the Euros, it’s also worth recognising that he never got to play in his favoured right-wing position. This was due to the asymmetric system employed by Andriy Shevchenko, with Tsygankov playing as an orthodox left-winger. Furthermore, his involvement was limited to cameo appearances off the bench as a result of his recent injury.

Would such concerns be a dealbreaker to a potential move? Probably not. Even so, Viktor may take time to acclimatise his game as well as his body to the intensity of the EPL. If he were to join LCFC, it wouldn’t be wise to expect either immediate results or for him to play every game. Despite this, Tsygankov is a player worth getting excited about, whether Leicester City sign him or not.