Vitalii Mykolenko after playing for Everton (left), Jack Grealish playing for Everton (right)
Vitalii Mykolenko after playing for Everton (left), Jack Grealish playing for Everton (right)
Vitalii Mykolenko has, for many Everton fans, been one of the Toffees’ best players so far this season.
There is big pressure on the full-back after Everton left him as the sole, natural left-back. His understudy last season, Adam Aznou, left the club to join Malaga on loan.
So far, Vitalii Mykolenko has played every minute of every game for Everton.
He caught the eye especially against Tottenham Hotspur and was named Player of the Match. But on the whole, Mykolenko has done well, helping Everton to keep five clean sheets.
He has only just begun to build his relationship with Jack Grealish again, after the winger re-signed for the club on deadline day – and Mykolenko has spoken about how the winger has prompted him to change his game.
Mykolenko explains how Jack Grealish has prompted him to change his style of play
Mykolenko has given an interview with The Athletic and touched on several different topics, including the new contract he signed in the summer, and the contact he has with his parents back home in Kyiv amid ongoing Russian aggression.
Mykolenko also talks about how he wishes to improve the attacking side of his game, having only made five assists in 165 appearances for Everton. He has spoken with Leighton Baines, who, of course, is one of the all-time great attacking full-backs the Premier League has seen.
But Mykolenko also spoke about his understanding with Grealish, shedding light on how the winger’s style has forced him to adapt his own.
He said: “Hard (the transition to a new style and attacking setup last season, one that saw him being asked to do new things).
“Jack loves to play on the (side) line. I understood before the season started that I had to change simple things, like what I do.
“We played well. But I played more in the middle, as a midfielder, because then Jack has more space. I enjoyed that. I like it when I do something new.”
Grealish certainly does hug the touchline. And it has been notable that Mykolenko has moved inside to create that space for the number 10. He has underlapped a fair few times already this season, and the hope is that he will be able to chip in a few more assists.
The Athletic released an interesting graphic today showing where each Premier League team tends to have greater territory in games and for Everton, that is on the left wing (as well as central defence). That is indicative of Everton making a conscious effort to send the ball that way, where Grealish tends to always be.
If Mykolenko can start providing for Everton in the final third, then that would be a real help.
And Mykolenko would also take his own game to the next level, if he was able to remain relatively solid from a defensive standpoint.
One thing is for sure though, Everton need him to stay fit. There were concerns last night when Mykolenko missed Ukraine’s Nations League game against Georgia with an injury. The issue doesn’t seem to be serious, but Everton will not want him to be risked if he doesn’t need to be.
Encouragingly, Mykolenko’s injury record isn’t too bad up to this point in his career, so hopefully he can shake this new setback off relatively quickly.