Sunderland’s Nazariy Rusyn has been on loan at Hajduk Split since the winter market.
The attacker has failed to score a goal and has an assist from 11 games for the Croatian club.
UkrFootball had a chat with the Sunderland man, where he discussed his future beyond this season.
The 26-year-old moved to the Stadium of Light from Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk on deadline day of the 2023 summer window.
Rusyn lost prominence under Régis Le Bris this season, with 162 minutes from 10 games for Sunderland. This includes only two minutes in the Championship since the start of October. The Ukrainian realised he wasn’t part of the Black Cats manager’s core plans.
When responding to why Le Bris didn’t bet on him at Sunderland, he revealed the coach even made him operate as a right-back in training.
“I’ve never talked to him. The coach treated me like everyone else, but during the season he made it clear that he was counting on other players. New strikers joined the team,” he said.
“And if in the first two months I still came on as a substitute for 10-15 minutes, then I stopped appearing on the field altogether. Sometimes I played as a right-back in training. It just happens. I could have been offended, but I decided to keep working hard and keep myself in shape to leave in the winter.”
The frontman said he decided to leave Sunderland after a meeting with the coaches and their director.
“I had a meeting with the sports director and assistant coaches. They said they had to decide something with me. What can be decided here? Agreed that I need to play elsewhere,” Rusyn explained.
His temporary stay at Hajduk Split lasts until the end of this season. Rusyn said the Croatian club have a buying option when asked whether he will return to Sunderland.
“I went on loan to Hajduk until the summer. However, as far as I know, it was Sunderland who insisted on including a buyout option in the deal. That is their position,” he added.
The Sunderland owned player was asked where he would see himself next season.
“We’ll see what happens in the summer. You plan, but God destroys. It is important that the coach wants me, and now it is important to play as a winger. The last time I played in this role was for Patrick at Zorya, and almost two years have passed since then. It’s a bit of a painful topic,” Rusyn said.
From these comments, Rusyn’s future looks away from Sunderland due to the stance taken by the club and Le Bris.
