A quick look at Illia Zabarnyi

THE RISING STAR OF UKRAINIAN FOOTBALL

It didn't take Illia Zabarnyi long to show remarkable passion and talent when it came to football. At a very young age, he joined Dynamo Kyiv's youth academy, where he built himself a reputation as a distinctly modern centre-back: solid, quick and endowed with an excellent reading of the game. Zabarnyi very quickly stood out thanks to his commitment and his maturity – rare attributes for such a young player – and at just 17 years old, he made his first-team debut at a time when Ukraine's leading outfit was looking to rejuvenate its squad. This first professional appearance would mark the start of a meteoric rise for the defender.

Season after season, Zabarnyi was living up to the lofty expectations that had been placed in him. With over 70 Ukrainian Premier League appearances under his belt at just 21 years old, he had established himself as a pillar of his side's back line, capable of combining aggression with technical elegance. His timely interventions, his tidy passing (with a completion rate of over 85%) and his ability to anticipate opposition attacks earned him the nickname of "the Wall of Kyiv", while for his national team, he had become indispensable, playing match after match with the same application and the same tactical intelligence as ever. By this point, his calmness and control under pressure had drawn the attention of clubs from beyond the borders of his home country.

FROM THE WALL OF KYIV TO THE WALL OF BOURNEMOUTH

In January 2023, Zabarnyi moved to Bournemouth and wasted little time in adapting to life in the Premier League, a division renowned for its physical intensity and its frantic pace. Be it through hard-fought duels or incessant running, the Ukrainian tightened up his game and gained further maturity, with this stint also confirming his potential to play at the highest level of European football. Incidentally, he was named as the Cherries' fans' Player of the Season at the end of his maiden campaign in England.

It was this experience and this constant improvement that convinced Paris Saint-Germain to take a chance on Zabarnyi, whose arrival in the French capital represents the culmination of a journey full of effort, learning and ever-growing ambitions.

DID YOU KNOW?

As a child, Illia practised martial arts, which undoubtedly instilled in him values that now allow him to keep a cool head on the pitch while making the most of his impressive 189 cm physique!