Nazariy Rusyn breaks silence on Sunderland transfer claims and reveals contract stance

Nazariy Rusyn has responded to reports linking him with a move away from Sunderland and has suggested he could yet remain at the Stadium of Light for the final year of his contract.

The Ukrainian forward spent the second half of last season on loan with Polish top-tier side Arka Gdynia, where he scored four goals after leaving Wearside in search of regular football. Rusyn is now due to return to Sunderland, though his future remains uncertain amid reports of interest from FC Karpaty Lviv.

Ukrainian outlet Sport.ua recently claimed Sunderland had agreed a fee with Karpaty and that a deal could potentially be concluded in the coming days. However, the 27-year-old has now told Ukrainian Football that he does not currently have specific information about a move and is preparing to return to England.

Asked about claims that he could join Karpaty, Rusyn said: “I don’t know. I don’t deal with this issue, so I can’t say anything specific right now. I’m currently waiting for the end of my contract with Arka, which ends on June 30.”

Asked whether there were any specifics with Karpaty, he added: “Nothing is known. My agent is talking to Sunderland. I don’t have any specific information yet. I only know that I have to be in Sunderland on July 4, because that’s when our training camp starts. So I’m flying to England on July 1.”

Rusyn still has one year remaining on his Sunderland contract, having joined the club from Zorya Luhansk in the summer of 2023. His time on Wearside has not gone to plan, with the forward struggling to establish himself under successive head coaches and later being allowed to leave on loan.

While a summer exit still appears likely, Rusyn has not ruled out seeing out the final year of his deal. “Yes, of course. I don’t rule it out,” he said when asked whether staying at Sunderland for another season was possible. I have another year on my contract with Sunderland.

“The main thing for me now is to fly to England. We’ve applied for visas for my children, and we’ll see how everything goes there. But there is a high probability that I will stay in England for a year and complete my contract with Sunderland until the end.”

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Rusyn also confirmed that he has not yet spoken to Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris about his prospects. Sunderland would likely make a loss on the fee paid to Zorya if Rusyn leaves this summer, but securing any fee would still help limit that loss from an SCR perspective. A player profit or loss is calculated against book value at the point of sale and added to the club’s overall calculation as an average across three years.

Sunderland also have a number of players returning from loan spells ahead of pre-season, including Arthur Masuaku, Jenson Seelt, Timothée Pembélé, Simon Adingra, Alan Browne, Leo Hjelde and Aji Alese. Anthony Patterson is also expected to depart this summer following his loan at Millwall, with significant interest in his signature.

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