Agent: “Melekhin is a tough defender. It is strange that so little attention is paid to this.

Football agent Anton Zheleznyakov admitted that he was not surprised that Rostov defender Viktor Melekhin was in the top 100 contenders for the Golden Boy award.

Melekhin and Dynamo midfielder Arsen Zakharyan are on the list of nominees for the Golden Boy award, given to the best player of the year in Europe under the age of 21.

– It’s very nice that he got into the top 100 list of the best young players in Europe. Melekhin is taller than many football players who are really considered talents in their countries. I’m not too surprised that he’s on this list, more surprised why so little attention is paid to the fact that we have a tough defender in our country. Everyone in the press is talking about attacking players, they are calling for an interview, but Melekhin remains on the sidelines of all discussions. But, okay, everything has its time.

Will getting on the Golden Boy list help his career? Yes, representatives of clubs in Italy called, Belgium ask and write about him. Probably, now they will pay more attention to it. We are not going anywhere and we are not in a hurry. We are waiting for good options that would be acceptable to all parties and would be beneficial for his career. We need to take the right step,” Zheleznyakov told Metaratings.ru.

Melekhin has been playing for the main team of Rostov since 2021. Last season, the 19-year-old played 34 matches and made 1 assist. Portal Transfermarkt estimates the market value of the defender at 3.5 million euros.