Pocket Dynamite - Yevhen Konoplyanka

DONETSK, UKRAINE – JUNE 19: Yevhen Konoplyanka of Ukraine in action during the UEFA EURO 2012 group D match between England and Ukraine at Donbass Arena on June 19, 2012 in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Amidst all the qualities that a fan seeks from his heroes, there is perhaps none more valued than the heart and desire to win. Ukraine, in front of their vocal crowd yesterday, left it all out on the pitch. They huffed and puffed and threw the kitchen sink at the English defence, which proved just frugal enough for the returning Rooney to sneak in a winner at the back-post. Amidst all the frantic running, counter attacks, and the scrambled clearances, one can be excused for failing to notice the diminutive figure of Yevhen Konoplyanka flitting about on the left wing for Ukraine.

Konoplyanka, who plays his football with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine, is such an unknown commodity that the ghost goal, as it were, would easily overshadow his contribution to the match as well as the entire tournament. However, to the trained eye, he is a pocket sized dynamite who cut in from the flank at will, left Johnson for dead at times, and even nearly bested Joe Hart from long range.

For a team which scored only two goals in the entire tournament, courtesy of their talisman Shevchenko, Konoplyanka was a constant threat, never deterred to shoot from range. It was this attitude, combined with his quick feet, that helped Ukraine find an outlet from defence time after time and heaped pressure on the English defence which stood up admirably to the challenge.

The first match of Ukraine’s campaign saw two goals created from attacks at breakneck speeds, with Konoplyanka providing the assist for the second goal after a scorching run had secured a corner. This wasn’t simply a flash-in-the-pan either, with Konoplanka having earlier drawn comparisons to Messi, Van der Vaart and Athletico’s Diego.

Interest in Konoplyanka has been ever-growing. Dynamo Kyiv‘s interim manager Oleh Luzhny’s interest in securing his services was met with staunch resistance from Dnipro’s coach Juande Ramos, who slapped a price tag of 50 – 60 million Euros on him. While those figures might be highly inflated, there is no doubting that he has tremendous potential.

Clubs of established repute might not be willing to splash the cash on a player who is virtually untested beyond the Ukrainian league. However, for clubs which are seen to have mid-table prospects, the acquisition of this Kirovohrad born 23 year-old might just prove to be the difference between a mediocre season and a surprise showing. Clubs such as Newcastle United or even Fulham would do well to recruit Konoplyanka, considering that their aerially gifted strikers are being somewhat deprived of quality service from the wings.

All in all, with the insane price tags associated with the wide players all across the globe, this consistent performer presents an opportunity for a value proposition with an incredible amount of heart. Heart and desire, which may just make the difference between mid-table obscurity and a club revolution.