2025/26 Vitalii Mykolenko

[Charlie Sweet]

Because we have to buy young players who show promise relatively cheaply and hope we can develop them - see Barry.

Sometimes it works out - Braithwaite / Stones, sometimes it doesn’t.

Not sure you're right there. Wasn't Myko meant to be c£25-£20m and Patterson £16m? Both hefty fees for absolutely untried youngsters - for those fees we should have got an awful lot better. Whereas both are technically very limkted and clearly doubts generally about attitude.

 

[hallamblue]

let’s not pretend Digne wasn’t a complete defensive liability. The few times he ever was in position he was just waltzed past with ease. Mykolenko had a bad game yesterday but there isn’t half some revisionism over Digne.

I wasn't bothered when Digne went but Mykolenko is a bottom 6 left back.

 

[Charro]

let’s not pretend Digne wasn’t a complete defensive liability. The few times he ever was in position he was just waltzed past with ease. Mykolenko had a bad game yesterday but there isn’t half some revisionism over Digne.

You don’t play for Unai Emery for three years if you’re a defensive liability.

Digne and mykolenko are playing completely different sports.

 

[Marcus Kendall]

You don’t play for Unai Emery for three years if you’re a defensive liability.

Digne and mykolenko are playing completely different sports.

Villa fan at work who goes home and away tells me Digne is defensively sound but not so good going forward which is the opposite of the Digne who played for us

 

[Charro]

Villa fan at work who goes home and away tells me Digne is defensively sound but not so good going forward which is the opposite of the Digne who played for us

Yeah, that sounds mad. Looks good whenever I see him play.

Don’t think he was ever that bad defensively. Just loved a rash yellow a bit too often.

Going forward he was brilliant.

Mykolenko can’t even run onto the ball properly.

 

[SJB]

You don’t play for Unai Emery for three years if you’re a defensive liability.

Digne and mykolenko are playing completely different sports.

Tbf Saint Domingo is right, Digne was a walkover for opposition wingers when he was with us, notorious for being completely inept at blocking or preventing a cross.

 

[Saint Domingo]

You don’t play for Unai Emery for three years if you’re a defensive liability.

Digne and mykolenko are playing completely different sports.

Well Maatsen is playing ahead of him now. I watched Digne for years here under multiple different managers. A very good fullback and would suit this team better than Mykolenko would but he was absolutely not the fullback that we needed the last few seasons battling to stay in the league. Mykolenko had some massive individual defensive performances for us in that time which kept us in the league. I don’t think Digne was capable of that type of consistent defensive effort. Digne would block the first cross and then not bother with the second. Even Ancelotti moved to 4 CBs at the back because Digne was too porous.

There’s a reason he left PSG Barcelona and Roma to play at Everton and Aston Villa

 

[witchdoc187]

Which premier league left backs would you swap super Myko for? Except Digne who seems to have become a world beater on here, despite being average at Villa.

 

[Zatara]

Which premier league left backs would you swap super Myko for? Except Digne who seems to have become a world beater on here, despite being average at Villa.

I'd go to Arsenal and ask for Lewis-Skelly on loan as he's been benched with 11 league sub appearances with 196mins.

See if we can sneak an option in there.

Get him and sell Mykolenko. See how Aznou is looking by season end.

 

[Lanolin]

Well Maatsen is playing ahead of him now. I watched Digne for years here under multiple different managers. A very good fullback and would suit this team better than Mykolenko would but he was absolutely not the fullback that we needed the last few seasons battling to stay in the league. Mykolenko had some massive individual defensive performances for us in that time which kept us in the league. I don’t think Digne was capable of that type of consistent defensive effort. Digne would block the first cross and then not bother with the second. Even Ancelotti moved to 4 CBs at the back because Digne was too porous.

There’s a reason he left PSG Barcelona and Roma to play at Everton and Aston Villa

Now as in the last 3 league games yes, i'm not sure that's conclusive proof that he's lost he's place. It's a bad sad (although not hugely surprising) that people who proclaimed selling Digne was a masterstroke at the time still want to pretend it is now, despite having been shown to have been embarrassingly wrong by the way things have panned out since.

Mykolenko is so far away from Digne's level it's not even funny. He does a bit of jockeying and clears his lines when we play a low block and people talk about him like he's a defensive colossus, it's painful.

 

[Frosty1878]

Well Maatsen is playing ahead of him now. I watched Digne for years here under multiple different managers. A very good fullback and would suit this team better than Mykolenko would but he was absolutely not the fullback that we needed the last few seasons battling to stay in the league. Mykolenko had some massive individual defensive performances for us in that time which kept us in the league. I don’t think Digne was capable of that type of consistent defensive effort. Digne would block the first cross and then not bother with the second. Even Ancelotti moved to 4 CBs at the back because Digne was too porous.

There’s a reason he left PSG Barcelona and Roma to play at Everton and Aston Villa

There’s a reason you play at mentioned clubs, because you can actually play football at that level, he’s streets ahead of Mykolenko in every aspect. He didn’t leave Digne out the side unless injured.

 

[peterw]

Which premier league left backs would you swap super Myko for? Except Digne who seems to have become a world beater on here, despite being average at Villa.

Digne isn't average at Villa. And I speak as a Villa fan. He's been great for us for a couple of seasons now, and is a hugely important part of the qualified league success we have in terms of challenging for the European places. There's also a reason why he's gone from being out of the French squad, to being recalled back into it to cover an injury, to being fully called up for the squad, to now being their regular left back. He is far from average at Villa.

 

[BigDuncTributeBand]

Digne isn't average at Villa. And I speak as a Villa fan. He's been great for us for a couple of seasons now, and is a hugely important part of the qualified league success we have in terms of challenging for the European places. There's also a reason why he's gone from being out of the French squad, to being recalled back into it to cover an injury, to being fully called up for the squad, to now being their regular left back. He is far from average at Villa.

He was a top player and fullback. Embarrassing that some on here want to pretend otherwise - a reasonable number weren’t bothered when he left, jokers.

 

[BigDuncTributeBand]

Well Maatsen is playing ahead of him now. I watched Digne for years here under multiple different managers. A very good fullback and would suit this team better than Mykolenko would but he was absolutely not the fullback that we needed the last few seasons battling to stay in the league. Mykolenko had some massive individual defensive performances for us in that time which kept us in the league. I don’t think Digne was capable of that type of consistent defensive effort. Digne would block the first cross and then not bother with the second. Even Ancelotti moved to 4 CBs at the back because Digne was too porous.

There’s a reason he left PSG Barcelona and Roma to play at Everton and Aston Villa

A lot lot funnier than most Christmas cracker jokes, I’ll give you that

 

[MACCA75]

Well Maatsen is playing ahead of him now. I watched Digne for years here under multiple different managers. A very good fullback and would suit this team better than Mykolenko would but he was absolutely not the fullback that we needed the last few seasons battling to stay in the league. Mykolenko had some massive individual defensive performances for us in that time which kept us in the league. I don’t think Digne was capable of that type of consistent defensive effort. Digne would block the first cross and then not bother with the second. Even Ancelotti moved to 4 CBs at the back because Digne was too porous.

There’s a reason he left PSG Barcelona and Roma to play at Everton and Aston Villa

Ancelotti didn’t drop him once. He was injured when we played 4CBs. Just because you have a terrible opinion about a player doesn’t mean you can just make up stuff.