Vatsko: "Kharkiv" conducted the best summer transfer campaign among UPL clubs

Ukrainian TV commentator and football expert Victor Vatsko evaluated the summer transfer campaign of "Kharkiv," calling it the best among all clubs of the Ukrainian Premier League.

"The summer transfer campaign of Kharkiv looks to me as the best among all clubs of the Ukrainian Premier League. The way they worked, filling problematic positions, is very precise and at the same time comprehensive work.

If last season "Kharkiv" played in the First League, now many already consider it as one of the giants of Ukrainian football. It's been just a year since their return to the UPL, but the club is already perceived this way.

I really liked how they worked in the transfer market this summer. They have been looking for a goalkeeper for a long time and have been working on the transfer of Georgiy Yermakov - both with his club and with the player himself. In the end, they got Yermakov.

There was also a problem in the team on the left flank of defense - there was no alternative to Martyniuk. When he didn't play, the defense had to be rebuilt. I believe that this issue is now closed. The loan of Artem Smolyakov is perfect. It seemed to me that Smolyakov was unavailable on the market, but "Kharkiv" got a ready Ukrainian player who doesn't need adaptation. This is a quality reinforcement of the attack through the flank. In the match against "Veres," Smolyakov significantly strengthened the left flank.

In the center of the field, "Kharkiv" acquired Oleksandr Yatsyk, whom they have wanted for a long time. He is well known by Mladen Bartulovich from their work together at "Zorya." Also, Rafael Profini arrived, who has received a lot of positive feedback from people involved in scouting players. In my opinion, Profini still needs to adapt to Ukrainian football.

At the same time, a very strong midfield is being formed in "Kharkiv" now. These are versatile players capable of covering different positions and performing a large amount of work. The triangle Yatsyk - Profini - Kalyuzhny, in my opinion, will be a big problem for most teams. These are three very unpleasant opponents who do a huge amount of work.

The only question is how to combine them correctly. The match against "Veres" showed that nuances can arise in creating moments against teams that defend deeply. I think many opponents will play against "Kharkiv" this season in this way. Therefore, Mladen Bartulovich will have to find the right balance between reliability and creativity.

Speaking of Carlos Paraco, he is a central striker who can be very versatile in the game.

To sum it up, I will say this: last winter, "Kharkiv" also made several potentially interesting and expensive transfers, but not all of them lived up to expectations. Instead, the current summer campaign looks very cohesive, balanced, and high-quality.

All the newcomers are ready to immediately contribute to solving tournament tasks. They complement those who were already in the team very well and give the coaching staff the opportunity for tactical flexibility and unconventional solutions.

That's why I believe that "Kharkiv" had the strongest transfer campaign among UPL clubs.

I would like to separately mention another important point. It's not a transfer, but in European football, coaches often say that the return of a player after injury is equivalent to a good signing. I mean the return after a serious injury of Ramik Gadzhiyev.

This is an additional bonus for "Kharkiv" in terms of expanding the squad's capabilities. After a serious injury, Gadzhiyev came on in the match against "Veres," scored the winning goal, and reminded everyone what an important joker he can be for Mladen Bartulovich. I believe that a lot will depend on the form of Ramik Gadzhiyev in the team's game.

As far as I understand, "Kharkiv" will not be very active in the transfer market this summer. I corresponded with the club's president Bohdan Boyko, and he said that, in principle, the club has already completed its work in the transfer market.

At the same time, it is not excluded that a winger may still be signed. This may depend, in particular, on the form of Ramik Gadzhiyev," Vatsko said on his Youtube channel.