Ukrainian Sensation Likened To Neymar

10 months ago

For many years, Shakhtar Donetsk has been one of the most successful talent factories in Europe. Fernandinho, Willian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Oleksandr Zinchenko are some of the players who are out of the system.

The club was known for having an excellent scouting network and youth teams that enabled them to bring out talent regularly. The height of the youth academy was the 2014-15 season when they reached the UEFA Youth League Final.

While the situation in Ukraine has forced Shakhtar to play away from home, they have not seen any dip in form, be it in the league or the youth system.

And the latest talent that has emerged is Mikhailo Modric. Before joining Shakhtar Donetsk, the 21-year-old was part of the Kharkiv Metalist and the Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Youth Academy.

Who is Mikhailo Modric?

The 21-year-old is a skilled player who can play anywhere across the front line but prefers the left wing. Modric is an ideal player for teams that like to play an attacking style of football. He can score goals, but his specialty lies in assists. He can find the killer pass that can split open defenses. In addition, he can also use his skill and speed to beat defenders.

Born in the city of Krasnohrad in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, Modric has been playing football since he was young. At the age of 16 he joined Shakhtar Academy.

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Mykhaylo Mudryk’s potential

Shakhtar knew early in his development that Modric was full of potential. Rapidly advancing in the youth system, he was promoted to the first team in 2018. Thereafter, he was immediately sent on loan to other clubs to ensure his development was not stymied by the limited minutes at Shakhtar.

He played 20 matches when he was on loan to Arsenal Kyiv and Desna Chernihiv.

While it is still far from a final product, the evidence is that it is a quick learner, which will help sort out the weaknesses in its game.

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Mikhailo Modric stats

The 2021-22 season was his best career so far, scoring two goals and providing nine assists in 19 matches. His great performance is the reason why the club She is currently at the top of the table.

Last season, he generated 4.8 forward passes per season, some of the highest on his team. He has also attempted more than ten dribbles per 90 minutes and has a success rate of over 50 percent, which is good enough for a player of his age.

SKILLS AND PLAYING STYLE

Although still far from the final product, Mikhailo Modric’s style is similar to that of Neymar at PSG. Like Neymar, he loves to dribble and use his speed and skill to beat defenders. In addition to this, he also likes to take advantage of the playing field.

As a result, you will often find him handling the ball. Because of his cross skill, he presents a double threat as defenders are not sure whether to pass or dribble the ball.

One of its main weaknesses is shooting. And while most of his shots come from low xG positions, he’s not a great player in the penalty area.

However, if he continued to improve his creative output, even a marginal improvement in his shot would make him a deadly attacker.

The future in Shakhtar Donetsk

Mikhailo Modric will leave the club this season with a move to Bayer Leverkusen, but all are uncertain. The Ukrainian, in an interview, had confirmed his desire to join the German club. Brentford also wanted the player, but Modric made his intentions clear that he wanted to play in the Champions League, which he would get at Leverkusen.

It will also be useful for Leverkusen, who does not have a player who plays a direct role on the left winger.

Leverkusen has a proven track record of developing young players, especially forwards.

Although Modric is still a player with huge potential, he has all the tools to take him to the highest level in football.

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