One of the brightest wingers in Ukrainian football, Alexey Gutsulyak, has decided on his next destination. After his contract with Zhytomyr's Polissya expired, the player, who became a free agent, agreed on personal terms with Turkish club Kocaelispor.
Finances and statistics: the deciding factors
According to insider Igor Burbas, the financial aspect played a key role in the transfer. The Turkish side offered the Ukrainian a salary of around 1 million euros per year. For Kocaelispor, which finished 10th in the Super Lig last season, this was a profitable investment: since Gutsulyak is a free agent, the club does not have to pay a transfer fee.
Another argument for the Turkish scouts was the player's impressive statistics. During his time with Polissya, Alexey scored 21 goals and made 11 assists in 65 matches. With the Ukraine national team, he has 6 goals to his name. Transfermarkt values the player's market price at 3.5 million euros.
The missed opportunity with Maccabi
Before signing with the Turks, Gutsulyak had a serious alternative option. Israeli Maccabi Haifa was interested in the player, offering a salary in the range of 700–800 thousand euros. However, the deal fell through not due to the Ukrainian's fault: the Israeli club's management redirected the budget to sign another UPL foreigner — Brazilian Bruninho from Lviv's Karpaty.
Thus, despite the players occupying different positions, competition for the budget led to Gutsulyak ending up in Turkey, where he received a more favorable offer.