Ivan joins the Imps
Lincoln City has completed the permanent signing of Ukraine U21 international Ivan Varfolomeev from Slovan Liberec, subject to international clearance and work permit, for an undisclosed fee.
The 21-year-old midfielder has signed a four-year contract with the Imps.
Varfolomeev began his career with Rukh Lviv, featuring for them in the Ukrainian Premier League, prior to signing for Czech top flight side Slovan Liberec in 2022.
Head coach Michael Skubala said: “Ivan has all the attributes that we want in this position, he has a real pedigree with multiple U21 caps for Ukraine and we believe that he has a high ceiling. We also think that his game will suit English football as he’s aggressive and competitive, effective out of possession and efficient with the ball. He fits our profile as a No.6 and we are delighted that we have been able to bring Ivan to the club. We really look forward to working with him.”
Director of football Jez George added: “Ivan was flagged up through our data modelling over 6 months ago and since then we have watched him extensively. After selling Ethan Erhahon, we further assessed his availability and affordability in this window, two key criteria in any transfer, as well as his desire to play in England. With those boxes ticked, we escalated the evaluation process and entered negotiations with Slovan Liberec and the player’s agent to secure a deal.
“Ivan is a player who is ready to contribute now, albeit we need to give him time to settle in a new country, with the attributes to succeed in England and huge potential to be a future asset.
“I would like to thank both of his representatives, Antoni Lukasiewicz and Pawel Hajduczek ,for their help in the process and Theodor Gebre Selassie, sporting director of Slovan Libercec, for the way in which the negotiations were conducted. Slovan Liberec are a good club who develop young players and Ivan is an example of that, having joined them at 18 years old.”
Picture: Chris Vaughan / Lincoln City
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