SPEAKING after his side’s 4-0 win over St Mirren on Wednesday evening, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers revealed that the club are in discussions with Ukrainian side Karpaty Lviv over the transfer of Maryan Shved.
Rodgers didn’t seem to know too much about the 21-year-old winger, but revealed that from what he’s seen, Shved is a “talent” and “something that will probably benefit the club in the future.” The deal, reported to be around £1.75 million, would involve Shved joining the Scottish champions before returning to Lviv on loan for the rest of the season.
We’ve done a little digging to see exactly who Shved is, what he’d bring to Celtic and had a look at where he’d fit into Rodgers’ side.
The first thing to point out is that Shved is indeed a very promising youngster. The right winger burst onto the scene in the Ukrainian Premier League back in the 2014/15 season and after making just 10 appearances for Karpaty drew admiring glances from Spain. Valencia tabled a bid for the young winger, but Shved opted to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Yevhen Konoplyanka and joined Sevilla in the summer of 2015.
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Sadly for the Ukrainian, things didn’t really work out for him at the Andalusian club. The 21-year-old reportedly struggled to settle into life in Spain and the culture shock, married with the language barrier, meant that he never truly settled. When Shved played for the Sevilla youth team in the UEFA Youth League, the under-19 equivalent of the Champions League, the winger acquitted himself well, scoring against Juventus and setting up another against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Shved made just one first-team appearance for Sevilla’s B team, who play in the Spanish second division, before an anterior cruciate ligament injury the following summer ruled him out for the rest of the season. A move back to Karpaty in 2017 followed, but Shved has only gone from strength to strength since.
Upon his return to Ukraine, Shved enjoyed a fine season back in his home country. Usually deployed on the right, although occasionally playing on the opposite wing or as a centre forward, Shved scored six goals and assisted a further two as Karpaty finished the season in eighth place.
READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers: Celtic are keen to sign Ukrainian winger Maryan Shved - then loan him out
This year, Shved has raised his game and is currently the third-top scorer in the Ukrainian top flight despite starting primarily on the right of the Lviv attack. The Ukrainian is more of an inside forward than a natural winger and often cuts inside onto his favoured left foot from the right wing. His trademark move seems to be driving down the right wing, stepping inside around the edge of the box before leathering the ball into the far corner.
Perhaps the best way of illustrating Shved’s ability of scoring spectacular goals would come from an examination of the winger’s expected goals (xG) this season. The 21-year-old has eight league goals to his name this season, but has an xG of just 4.19 - meaning that Shved has scored four goals this season from positions where the ball is unlikely to find the back of the net. The video at the bottom of this article shows some of the winger’s highlights this season and there are a few eye-catching goals for Celtic fans to get excited about.
Shved made his senior debut for the national side against Turkey last November but has previously starred for their youth teams. The skillful winger scored twice at the under-19 Euros in six games and scored a further two at the under-21s tournament two years later. The video above shows Shved in action against Latvia for his national team’s under-21s, highlighting the forward’s nimble footwork and quick feet.
As well as having an enviable scoring rate this season - scoring a goal around every 160 minutes, on average - Shved has the second-highest shot accuracy of any player in Ukraine, with 50% of his efforts finding the target. The winger is a natural dribbler, too: Shved attempts 7.2 dribbles per 90 minutes, the sixth-highest in the Ukrainian top flight. Not bad at all from a player on the books at Karpaty, who are currently sitting in tenth position in the twelve-team league.
Rodgers said that Celtic “have about a million wingers and don't need another one” but with Timothy Weah and Oliver Burke set to leave Glasgow in the summer, places in Rodgers’ squad will open up and someone will need to fill the vacancy. The emergence of Mikey Johnston, who is likely to serve as Scott Sinclair’s understudy, means that Celtic are well-stocked on the left wing but once Weah and Burke return to their parent clubs, Celtic will need more options on the right if James Forrest has to miss the occasional game. Shved would give Rodgers another option in attack, and a different type of player from any other currently on the books at Celtic Park. Rodgers might not see the benefit of Shved’s arrival yet, but the 21-year-old could go on to star for the club next season.
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