Rumour Mongering: Andriy Yarmolenko Again

Liverpool have been linked to 26-year-old Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko for the past couple of windows, which only made the most recent bout of rumor mongering that much easier for the media to connect-the-dots, and for the fans to ignore. This round was kicked off by some quotes by Ukraine's national team coach Mykhaylo Fomenko.

"If [Yarmolenko] is wanted by the top English clubs then, yes, he can show his best in the Premier League and he must do this," Fomenko said.

From that nebulous quote, The Independent extrapolated that Arsenal, Tottenham, and Liverpool must be in for the Dynamo Kiev player. Because reasons.

Yarmolenko has been a staple for both club and country, scoring at a reliable clip for both. For Kiev, he has 110 goals in 284 appearances, and 24 in 58 for Ukraine, including Monday night's winning goal against Wales. He is rumored to be available for £25 million.

Clearly Liverpool have shown interest in Yarmolenko in the past, and are in desperate need of quality wide players. However, fans don't have to search their memory too long to find ample examples of frustrating attempts to pry away Ukraine-based players. Two years ago, Dnipro refused to sell Yevhen Konoplyanka to Liverpool, despite triggering his release clause. And this winter, Shakhtar Donetsk refused to deal with the Reds over Alex Teixeira, instead preferring to wait for that sweet, sweet Chinese Super League money.

So, it's probably not a thing, and if it is a thing we should still be skeptical based on past history with this player and other Ukrainian clubs.