Nazariy Rusyn transfer news: He leaves Sunderland as Karpaty Lviv permanent switch is confirmed
Nazariy Rusyn transfer news: It was a transfer that had been written on the wall for months. On 1 July 2026, Nazariy Rusyn formally ended his underwhelming spell on Wearside, packing his bags for a permanent return to Ukraine with Karpaty Lviv. The numbers alone outline a tough couple of years. Signed from Zorya Luhansk back in September 2023 for a healthy €2.5 million, the 27-year-old forward leaves the Stadium of Light with his market valuation sitting at a modest €800,000.
Sunderland took a gamble on him during their Championship days. There were brief flashes of promise, like that solitary New Year’s Day goal against Preston in 2024, but those moments were rare. He managed just 32 appearances and a total of 1,039 minutes in red and white. Most of that action happened in his first season. Once Régis Le Bris took the managerial hot seat in 2024, Rusyn was frozen out entirely, register-watching from the bench to the tune of just 164 minutes across 10 matches.
Frustration in Poland and the winter block
A loan to Hajduk Split in January 2025 offered no real salvation, and by September, he was shipped off to Polish top-flight outfit Arka Gdynia. One goal in 11 games sounds abysmal. Yet, an interview with Ukrainian Football shows that the bare stats do not tell the full story. Karpaty Lviv wanted him through the door back in the winter, but Arka dug their heels in and blocked an early exit.
“I wanted to move to Karpaty back in the winter, but it didn’t work out,” Rusyn admitted. “Arka wouldn’t let me go. At the same time, we stayed in constant contact. Three months before signing the contract, I was already 90% sure that this move would happen.” Other clubs in Poland and across Europe sniffed around with better financial packages, but the player gave his representative a clear, uncompromising mandate: “I told my agent that I wanted to go to Karpaty. I wasn’t interested in the other offers because I wanted to go home.”
Tactical identity crises hindered him from the start in England. Born just outside Lviv, the forward grew up in the academies of both Lviv and Dynamo Kyiv, meaning he is stepping back into completely familiar territory. The intensity of English football was never the only hurdle. “At Zorya, I played as a winger, but at Sunderland I started playing as a No.9,” Rusyn explained.
Constant upheaval behind the scenes did not help either. Sunderland went through four different head coaches in the space of a single year. Le Bris simply had no tactical use for him, a reality the striker accepts with a shrug. “Today you might not be a good fit for one coach, but tomorrow you could become a key player for another.”
Language barriers added to the isolation off the pitch, though he does not regret testing himself abroad. He will now link up with Fran Fernández, the former Murcia boss who took over the reins at Karpaty Lviv in January following Vladyslav Lupashko’s dismissal. Rusyn is still waiting to make his competitive debut under the Spaniard. (Quote via Sport Witness)
