Nazariy Rusyn has opened up about his difficult spell at Sunderland, admitting he always felt like he was trying to catch up after arriving at the club while recovering from injury. The Ukrainian forward revealed he realised his time at the club was coming to an end when new manager Regis Le Bris began deploying him at right-back during training sessions.
In the first half of the season, Rusyn was largely a fringe player, making only eight Championship appearances before securing a loan move to Hajduk Split in January. Speaking in an in-depth interview with FootBoom, Rusyn suggested that Sunderland pushed for a purchase option to be included in his loan deal, indicating that he doesn’t expect to return to Wearside this summer. Across his time at Sunderland, he made just nine league starts and scored two goals, admitting he never felt he reached his best form.
“When I first arrived, Tony Mowbray assured me he believed in me and planned to integrate me gradually,” Rusyn explained. “Because I had missed pre-season and was unfamiliar with the team, the idea was to slowly introduce me — first with 10 minutes, then 15, and eventually more. At one point, he even told me I would start a match.” However, Rusyn acknowledged that joining the team late and dealing with injury setbacks made it difficult for him to properly adapt to the demands of the Championship. He also shared that prior to his move to England, he had not trained properly for a month at Zorya due to a groin injury.
Adding to his struggles, Rusyn recounted a frightening moment when he developed a blood clot in his calf, forcing him to stop playing for two months while on blood-thinning medication. He admitted that the language barrier compounded his difficulties, as not being able to speak English made everyday life with the team extremely challenging. Nevertheless, he viewed his time at Sunderland as a valuable learning experience.
Rusyn also reflected on his relationship with Le Bris, the new Sunderland boss. He explained that, while Le Bris treated him fairly, it quickly became clear the coach preferred other players, especially as new forwards were brought in. After being reduced to short substitute appearances and even training in unfamiliar positions like right-back, Rusyn realised he needed to move on. A meeting with the club’s sporting director and coaching staff confirmed that a change was necessary, and both sides agreed that he should seek opportunities elsewhere.
Since moving to Hajduk Split, Rusyn has made 12 appearances without finding the back of the net. He detailed how the move came about, noting that although interest from Hajduk surfaced in December, the deal only materialised in January. With Hajduk being a massive club in Croatia, akin to Dynamo Kyiv or Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, and with Rino Gattuso as manager, the move was an exciting opportunity for him. Rusyn mentioned he had also spoken to other European clubs, including Aberdeen, but ultimately chose Hajduk. He confirmed that Sunderland had insisted on including a purchase option in the loan agreement, signalling a clear desire to part ways permanently.
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