Scouting Report: Viktor Tsygankov

EDIT: So I thought I’d uncovered a bit of a hidden gem with Viktor Tsygankov and then halfway through writing this report he scored against France, and then Spain in a surprise win 🤦

Okay, we’re going to head a little off the main track today, and find a player who I am actually pretty excited about. He is:

• Young

• A Goal Scorer

• In Great Form

• Has Good Underlying Stats

• Has Recent Rookie Card

Let me introduce you to Viktor Tsygankov

Player Profile

Name: Viktor Tsygankov

Age: 22 (1997)

Position: Right Attacking Midfielder

Club: Dynamo Kiev

Country: Ukraine

Rookie Season: 2016, although the only product I can find is from 2020

About Viktor Tsygankov

Let’s start with the glory stats. Viktor Tsygankov has a stupid-impressive scoring rate.

At only 22, over his career he is scoring at .45 goals per 90 minutes which is a pretty outstanding for the start of your career.

On top of that, he also averages .28 assists per 90.

So, that’s a total of .73 goals or assists per 90 minutes palyed.

They’re outrageous numbers for the first four years of your career.

Last season he was second in the Ukraine League Goals And Assist total. And while he was seven goals/assists behind the leader, he performed basically at the rate expected, whereas Moraes ended with 26 goals and assists off only 17.15 xGA.

And Moraes’ side, Shakhtar Donetsk is a far better side than Tsygankov’s Dynamo side.

This was shown when Tsygankov underperformed his expected assist numbers, this indicates that the players around him do let him down from time to time.

When it comes to positioning, as is all the rage right now, Tsygankov is a left footer that plays mainly on the right-hand side of the field.

As you can see, he has had some time on the left, but he does the vast majority of his damage on the right.

His Underlying Numbers

Let’s take a quick look at some underlying numbers. This graph basically compares him to other players, the closer the blue is to the outside edge, the better he is at that. The closer the blue is to the center of the circle, the more that is an area for growth.

To me, the numbers that scream out are his Goals per 90 minutes (G/90) and his Goal Conversion Percentage (GC%). Along with that, his Successful Dribble Percentage (DR%) is also high.

On the low side are Assists per 90 (A/90), passing percentage (P%), and his dribbles per 90 (D/90).

There’s a lot to go over in this. However, one thing that will impact a lot of his numbers is set pieces. Tsygankov is an absolute beast with a dead ball. So, with that, he’s getting a lot of key passes and potential assists from corners and free kicks. It also inflates his actual assist numbers as a fair few have come from set pieces and not open play.

However, I don’t really see this as too much of an issue, as it’s better to be a good set piece taker than anyway.

His Finishing and Movement

As you can probably tell by the numbers we’ve looked at so far, Viktor Tsygankov is a great finisher.

As you can see by looking at his shot chart below, he does take a lot of shots from a set area of the field. That part to the right of the penalty box is set up for Tsygankov to cut in from the right hand side and finish on his left.

When looking at this chart, it’s important to know that,

• Blue diamond = Goal

• Red circle = On target

• White circle = Wide

• Square = Blocked

As you can see though, there’s a whole lot of shots from outside the box.

Granted, some of these are free kicks. But still, there’s a lot that aren’t.

Actually, when you think about it, the fact his goal conversion rates are so high and he still takes some dumb shots from way outside the box is pretty exciting. If he can make some better decisions at times, there’s some low-hanging fruit there to improve his game.

With the good shots he takes, a lot come from either his dribbling (when he does it), or speed and movement off the ball.

Movement-wise, I really like Tsygankov. He’s always causing defenders to make decisions. And a lot of them too.

Exactly the type of player you don’t want to face on a Sunday.

When I say speed off the ball, he’s not some hyper-quick sprinter. He has good initial pace, but it’s not outstanding. Instead, he mixes the pace he does have with making smart runs off the ball, giving him an advantage over his defender.

Although, he can do a guy for pace too. Just check this recent goal against France.

That’s Camavinga he completely demolishes before cutting in and finishing on his left.

As a goal it’s true to form too. Definitely a goal that matches the shot chart we looked at above.

A lot of the chances he creates for others are from free kicks, however he has shown an ability to hit smart passes in games, and has the ability to find teammates in good scoring opportunities.

Like this pass here, he knew exactly where he wanted to send his teammate before receiving the ball.

And I really like this pass too. He sees the central defender ball-watching, and instead of passing to the striker to the right of screen, he takes a few extra steps in, sets up the opportunity to catch the defender flat-footed, and then plays the through pass in for a goal.

It’s a tricky one. He’s clearly the best player in his team, and maybe the best in his league. So maybe he’ll start using that passing range with a better team and against better opposition.

However, that’s to be seen over the long-term.

What’s Next for Viktor Tsygankov?

There are two obvious next steps for Tsygankov.

1. Perform well for his club

2. Perform well at the Euros

If he can do both of those things (and to be honest, even if he doesn’t) he’ll get a move to a bigger club at a bigger league.

Honestly, I’m pretty surprised he didn’t move in the window just gone. However, despite the big transfer fees you saw in the Premier League, spending was down across the board due to COVID.

If he’s still at Dynamo by the time the Euros roll around, he’s going to be hot property after that tournament.

I’d love to see him move to Germany, and see how it develops his game.

Viktor Tsygankov For Collectors

While Viktor Tsygankov has been around in Ukraine for a while, he doesn’t have too many cards or stickers out there that I know about.

So with that, a lot of his first products are actually from the 2020 Euro and Road to Euro sets.

That mostly includes stickers, but there’s the Euro Select cards too. Tsygankov has a regular card with all the parallels, but no autograph or anything like that.

Still, it wouldn’t surprise me if Tsygankov ends up being the best rookie from that Euro Select set. A lot will obviously depend on his next move away from Ukraine.

And, if you’re reading this at the time of publication (cheeky plug to make sure you sign up), Euro 2020 Select prices are way down, partly because the checklist was mostly rubbish.

Final Thoughts

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