Everton left-back Vitalii Mykolenko wants to emulate Ashley Cole
Everton left-back Vitalii Mykolenko has hailed the impact of Ashley Cole on his progress at the club.
The Toffees will face Manchester United at Goodison Park on Sunday (9 October) in the Premier League, and ahead of the match, Mykolenko suggested that he watches clips of Cole and that he wants to be like him.
Cole, the Toffees coach, is arguably one of the best left-backs in the history of the Premier League, and needless to say, he is helping Mykolenko fulfil his full potential.
“Straight after this interview we our having a meeting! We speak a lot about my game, about my body shape, my movements,” said Mykolenko to the club’s official website.
“I watch clips of Ashley when he used to play for Chelsea and study them. He was aggressive and I want to be like he was – I want to play more in attack. In the last games, I didn’t play well in attack and he was one of the best in that sense.”
Bright start
Mykolenko joined in the January transfer window this year, signed by Rafa Benitez.
The 23-year-old showed incredible attitude and professionalism last season. He didn’t let his performance drop despite the emotional trauma he was going through as Ukraine was under attack from Russia.
He has started the season strongly and has played in all the Premier League matches so far.
Mykolenko is a solid defender who hardly makes big errors, and he is equally good going forward. However, there are loads of room for improvement and the player admits that too.
For a player of his quality, he should be aiming to get some goals and assists to his name as well.
He is strong in tackles (2.1 per game as per WhoScored), and equally smart in reading the game (1.9 interceptions).
The Toffees are on a roll here. They have now won back-to-back games in the Premier League, including an away win against Southampton.
Frank Lampard’s side are generally strong at home, and the Toffees should be aiming for all three points on Sunday.