Wolves are reportedly showing an interest in a Ukraine international player who has previously been described as ‘pitbull-like’ and ‘a specialist from dead-ball situations’.
Wolves have just finished their 2023/24 season, and it was quite the campaign.
Gary O’Neil‘s side were finding their feet in the first third of the season. In the middle things really started to click and goals were flowing. But in the last few months, Wanderers struggled as injuries took their toll on the small squad.
O’Neil will be wanting a bigger squad ahead of 2024/25 – and the transfer links have already begun.
With Pedro Neto potentially set for an exit, the club are now apparently showing interest in Girona winger Viktor Tsygankov…
Wolves interested in Viktor Tsygankov, but face competition from West Ham United and Aston Villa
According to Spanish publications AS and Grada 3, Wolves are one of a few clubs to be showing interest in Girona winger Viktor Tsygankov, who has enjoyed a very solid season in 2023/24.
Girona qualified for the Champions League, and several of their stars are now starting to get linked with moves away, as expected.
Tsygankov is one such player, with the 26-year-old having scored six goals and made six assists in 29 La Liga matches.
The former Dynamo Kyiv star had a bit of an interrupted campaign, having picked up a few injuries.
But he impressed, and now he’s a wanted man. AS say that Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa are all keen, and that Bayern Munich have previously held an interest.
West Ham being keen is interest because, as Wolves fans know, Julen Lopetegui was announced as their new manager on Thursday morning. So quite possibly, the former Molineux boss could scupper Wolves’ plans.
Wolves may find it hard to convince Tsygankov
So that’s another wide forward linked with Wolves, after recent claims of interest in Jonathan Rowe, Jhon Arias and Justin Njinmah.
Tsygankov only joined Girona in January 2023 and has scored nine goals and made 12 assists in 52 games, which are fairly average numbers.
But he was absolutely superb at his previous club Dynamo Kyiv, where he made 236 appearances and scored 84 goals and made 64 assists. So clearly, this is a player capable of making things happen in the final third.
Granted the Ukrainian Premier League is not the same standard as La Liga, but they’re impressive numbers nonetheless.
According to a feature from Scouted Football a few years ago, 51-cap Ukraine international Tsygankov – who was actually born in Israel – is ‘an abrasive, all-action, vocal, pitbull-like character’. He is also ‘a specialist from dead-ball situations’.
He’s described as ‘quick, but not exclusively in the sense that all he has is raw speed’.
Given this verdict, Tsygankov may well be something of a hybrid between Neto and Pablo Sarabia.
Ultimately, this could be a difficult deal to do for Wolves because there is no European football to offer the player. Tsygankov will be playing Champions League football next season if he doesn’t go anywhere, so you would expect he’d want to sign for a club that can offer that if he is to move.