5 players who have flown the flag for Ukraine in the Premier League

Football Mad -

Mykhailo Mudryk will become the latest Ukrainian player to feature in the Premier League after joining Chelsea.

The 22-year-old has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal, with the Blues paying Shakhtar Donetsk a reported £62million – possibly rising to £88m.

Here, Football Mad looks at some of the other Ukrainian imports to have played in the English top flight.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – Manchester City and Arsenal

Oleksandr Zinchenko enjoyed success at Manchester City before switching to Arsenal (Mike Egerton/PA)

Signed by City from Russian side Ufa in July 2016, Zinchenko was sent out on loan to PSV Eindhoven for the 2016-17 season. He returned to City and made 14 appearances in all competitions in the following campaign before establishing himself in the side. After recovering from knee surgery, Zinchenko started the 2021 Champions League final which City lost to Chelsea. In July 2022 he signed for Arsenal for a reported fee of £30million.

Vitalii Mykolenko – Everton

Signed from Dynamo Kiev in January 2022, Mykolenko scored his first goal for the club with a stunning volley in a 2-1 win at Leicester in May which lifted the Toffees out of the Premier League relegation zone. A few weeks earlier he and Zinchenko were in tears on their respective benches ahead of Everton’s game with Manchester City as the home side emerged from the tunnel draped in Ukraine flags with City’s players wearing T-shirts bearing the flag of their homeland and the words ‘No War’ following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sergei Rebrov – Tottenham and West Ham

Sergei Rebrov played for Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham following his move from Dynamo Kyiv (Andrew Parsons/PA)

One half of Dynamo Kyiv’s prolific striking duo in the of the late 1990s, Rebrov joined Spurs in the summer of 2000 and scored 12 goals in all competitions in his debut season but found his starting opportunities limited under Glenn Hoddle, following the sacking of George Graham. After two loan spells at Fenerbahce, Rebrov joined Championship side West Ham but scored just twice for the club before rejoining Dynamo Kyiv.

Andriy Shevchenko – Chelsea

Andriy Shevchenko had a stint at Stamford Bridge (Rebecca Naden/PA)


Rebrov’s striking partner arrived in England following a highly successful spell with AC Milan, costing Chelsea £30million. Shevchenko scored 14 goals in all competitions in a debut season cut short due to an injury which meant he missed the Champions League semi-final, second leg against Liverpool and the FA Cup final against Manchester United. Shevchenko scored eight times the following season before being loaned back to AC Milan and eventually rejoining Dynamo Kyiv.

Oleg Luzhny – Arsenal and Wolves

Another player to make the switch from Dynamo Kyiv, Luzhny was signed by manager Arsene Wenger largely as cover for full-back Lee Dixon. Nevertheless, he was part of the club’s double-winning campaign in 2001-02 and his last appearance for the Gunners was in their FA Cup final win over Southampton in 2003. Luzhny joined newly-promoted Wolves two months later but made just 10 appearances before beginning his managerial career in Latvia.\

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