There’ll be few mentions of Nazariy Rusyn at Sunderland until the summer. But the Ukrainian attacker is already giving the Black Cats something to think about.
Nazariy Rusyn sealed his long-awaited and much-needed loan exit from Sunderland during the January transfer window, joining Croatian outfit Hajduk Split for the rest of the 2024/25 season.
It comes after the 2023 signing from Zorya featured just eight times in the Championship under Regis Le Bris, failing to make an impression in any of his appearances following his tough 2023/24 campaign.
There was a lot of interest in Rusyn who turned down a loan move to Aberdeen before linking up with Hajduk, who are managed by legendary Italian midfielder Gennaro Gattuso.
Last week, the 26-year-old attacker made his debut for Split in a 3-2 defeat against NK Lokomotiv in the Croatian First league, and Rusyn enjoyed a positive first outing for his new club despite their defeat.
- READ MORE: Do Sunderland have the option to buy Salis Abdul Samed, RC Lens’ asking price already revealed
Sunderland man Nazariy Rusyn grabs assist on Hajduk Split debut
With his side trailing 2-1 at the break, Gattuso made a triple change at half-time, bringing on Rusyn and two others. Within 10 minutes of the restart, Split were back on level terms.
Rusyn had the ball down the left flank and he dinked a nice cross into the six-yard box, which one-time Inter forward Marko Livaja headed home to record an assist for Rusyn on his Split debut (see video below at 8:55)
After 20 games of the season, Split currently sit in 2nd place of the Croatian top tier table and are two points behind leaders Rijeka. After the last outing, Rusyn’s Split have 16 games left to battle for the title.
- READ MORE: Wycombe Wanderers fans all say the same as Mike Dodds shares first interview since Sunderland exit
Do Hajduk Split have the option to sign Nazariy Rusyn?
Rusyn still under contract at the Stadium of Light until 2027. And Sunderland spent £2.5million on the player so they’ll want to get their value from somewhere, be it via Rusyn eventually coming good for the Black Cats, or by selling.
With Rusyn starting well at Split, it’ll have certainly caught the attention of the likes of Kristjaan Speakman, who’ll no doubt take stock in the summer when Rusyn has had some playing time with Split.
Split have the option to sign Rusyn for £2.1million during the summer. Should the move go through then it would almost cover Sunderland’s cost of signing Rusyn in 2023, and if Rusyn enjoys his time there then it could be a move that makes sense for all parties.