Yaremchuk's time to go home. The option with Kharkiv is good for the player and the club

At the beginning of February, the forward of the Ukrainian national team Roman Yaremchuk moved on loan from Greek Olympiacos to French Lyon. For this transfer, "The Weavers" paid 1.5 million euros, and another 5 million were agreed with the Greeks as the amount for a full buyout. For the Greeks, these conditions seemed fantastic, as in his second season at Olympiacos, Yaremchuk ceased to be an important figure for the first team, and the opportunity to make money on him seemed extremely successful for the top club in Greece.

In France, under the guidance of Paulo Fonseca, Yaremchuk was able to revive and rejuvenate his career. In 11 matches in Ligue 1, the Ukrainian forward scored 4 goals and provided 1 assist. Few doubted that Lyon would try to buy out Roman's contract, but... In the end, everything came down to the position of Olympiacos' bosses. The Greeks apparently thought they had caught a big fish and insisted on 5 million euros from Lyon for Yaremchuk's full transfer, while the French asked for a discount.

At some point, other clubs from weaker championships - Turkey, Poland - also began to show interest in Yaremchuk. There was hope that Olympiacos would decide to keep Roman and give him another chance, but in the end, the experienced Spanish specialist Jose Luis Mendilibar decided otherwise. As a result, as the summer transfer window closed in most European championships, Yaremchuk found himself in a not-so-great position - he remained a player of Olympiacos, where he was not counted on at all, and had no obvious options to continue his career.

But then something unexpected happened - Yaremchuk changed his agency, and on the horizon appeared the possibility of returning to the Ukrainian Premier League. The 30-year-old striker's services were offered to "Kharkiv", which perceived this opportunity with enthusiasm and actively started working on the deal. It is reported that the Kharkiv club is ready to meet Roman's financial demands, and now the question of returning to UPL depends entirely on the player's position.

However, it is currently unclear on what terms Olympiacos will potentially release Yaremchuk to Kharkiv. Will the Ukrainian club pay the Greeks 5 million euros, which Lyon failed to do? Will the Greeks, against the backdrop of the closing of the transfer window, be more cooperative and release their striker to Ukraine with a significant discount? The answers to these questions will only be revealed in the near future if the deal does take place.

But it can already be said that Yaremchuk's potential move to "Kharkiv" will benefit all three parties involved in the deal. The benefit to Olympiacos, where the Ukrainian center forward is absolutely not counted on, does not need to be repeated. Moreover, Roman cost the Greeks only 2 million euros, and they have already recouped 1.5 million from the loan to Lyon. Therefore, it is quite realistic for Olympiacos to cover all expenses for the Ukrainian and even make some profit from him. Plus, in the fall, Roman will celebrate his 31st birthday, which is definitely not a factor that will increase his price for the Greeks.

Currently, Yaremchuk finds himself in a dead end in his career. His contract with Olympiacos is valid for two more seasons, but at least in the next year, as long as Mendilibar remains the team's coach, Roman has absolutely no prospects of playing in the main squad. Sitting and just collecting a salary is, of course, an option, but it seems not suitable for a player of the national team level, who once even left Dynamo not for money, but for the opportunity to play football.

To say that a transfer to a hypothetical "Trabzonspor" or Poland would be better for Yaremchuk than "Kharkiv" is also unlikely. Firstly, the Turkish option is always a story of instability. Tomorrow or the day after, the coach and president there may change, and the situation for Yaremchuk will quickly turn into something similar to what is happening now at Olympiacos. Moreover, besides a few rumors, nothing serious has come from Trabzonspor regarding Roman. As for the option with the Polish "Wisla", Yaremchuk himself burned all bridges for this deal with his statements and comments. So there is simply no reason to return there.

In "Kharkiv", Yaremchuk will definitely have the opportunity to play in the main squad. His presence in the team will give the coaching staff more options for using foreign players in other positions, as the limit in UPL continues to apply, and having a good Ukrainian center forward is something that only a few teams in the league can boast of. Financially, if we believe the insiders, Roman will also not be mistreated in the Kharkiv club. So everything fits perfectly: status, respect, trust, money. Everything is there, so why not return? And changing the agency to one that mostly operates in the UPL is already a kind of marker for the decision Yaremchuk is willing to make.

For "Kharkiv", signing Roman Yaremchuk is also seen as a good decision at the current stage, as long as they don't have to pay too much for this transfer - those infamous 5 million euros that Lyon failed to pay earlier.

The fact is that Mladen Bartulovich's team sorely lacks a productive center forward. In the summer, the club tried to solve the problem by bringing in former Krivbas striker Carlos Paraco, but the 22-year-old Venezuelan is still in the adaptation period to the new requirements and has not shone yet, and Bartulovich needs results from him already.

The 26-year-old Nigerian Christian Mba was no more than a rotation player for Kharkiv last season. And his 23-year-old compatriot Peter Itodo, despite scoring 10 goals in 25 matches in the UPL 2025/26, overall stands out for incredible wastefulness of moments. In the last edition of the national championship, Itodo's goal conversion rate was 10%... This is a great illustration of how many chances the Nigerian has blatantly wasted, and in the new season, the situation is not improving much - just remember the episode where Itodo's misunderstanding of the game moment practically deprived Kharkiv of the opportunity to score against Shakhtar.

In the current situation, Kharkiv could really use a forward with experience who is capable of demonstrating good efficiency, positional play of a center forward, and the ability to be useful in team tactics. Yaremchuk may no longer seem like the perfect option, but he is definitely a good one.

Moreover, Yaremchuk does have a good understanding and knowledge of the domestic Premier League. And also - he has experience of playing not for grand clubs like "Dynamo" and "Shakhtar", but for an ambitious underdog, which "Oleksandriya" once was, and now "Kharkiv" is taking on this role.

For Yaremchuk himself, returning to his homeland, still affected by the war, may not seem like the pinnacle of dreams on a personal level. But on the other hand, moving to "Kharkiv" will allow Roman to live in the capital (let's remind that Kharkiv residents are currently quartered near Kyiv - based in Shchaslyve, and play home matches at the "Left Bank Arena"), having some of the best conditions in the country at hand. From a professional point of view, returning to the UPL is a great opportunity to be in the sight of the national team coaching staff. Andrea Maldera has already indicated that he is ready to invite players not only from "Dynamo" and "Shakhtar", but also from the same "Kharkiv", where the right fullback Ilya Krupsky is preparing to receive a chance to prove himself in the ranks of the "blue-yellow".

Now we just have to wait and see if the rumors come true, and whether Yaremchuk will become the new center forward of "Kharkiv". The transfer window in the UPL, let's remind, closes on September 4.