Everton close to signing young left back - what we know so far

What a world we’re living in. Everton took a threadbare squad to title contenders Chelsea last night and came back with a point. And today it looks like we are about to sign a left back!

Multiple credible media sources indicate that Ukraine international Vitaliy Mykolenko is in England undergoing a medical today and will sign for the Toffees for a sum of £17.9m million. The 22-year-old is currently with Dynamo Kiev, and yesterday their manager had indicated that the Blues were in the process of signing the fullback.

Depending on who you’re asking, it looks like Lucas Digne is set to leave the club because either the club is trying to cash in on an asset, or he has differences with Rafa Benitez that will not get resolved at Finch Farm, or a combination of both factors.

Not much is known about Mykolenko, but the player has certainly had some exposure to higher levels of competition outside of Ukraine’s top tier Premier Liga with 32 games played in the Champions League and Europa League. He has been capped 21 times by the Ukraine national team with Manchester City’s hybrid left back Oleksander Zinchenko being used as a midfielder on the international stage.

Primarily a defensive-minded left back, he has also slotted in very rarely as a left-sided centre half and also as a wide left midfielder on occasion too. This season he has featured in 21 games including 5 appearances in the Champions League as Kiev were eliminated from a murderous group including Bayern Munich, Benfica and Barcelona.

The transfer will not be fully ratified by the Premier League and FIFA until the January transfer window opens on January 1st, at which point he will become eligible to play for the Blues. There have also been reports that the transfer fee will be paid in instalments across the length of the contract the player will be offered, which makes the spending a lot more palatable considering Everton’s spending restrictions due to the Premier League Profit & Sustainability regulations.

With Everton’s Sunday game against Leicester City postponed, we’ll have a more in-depth analysis of Mykolenko this weekend, stay tuned.