The transfer of Oleksiy Sich to Kyiv's Dynamo appears standard at first glance: a 25-year-old right-back, a three-year contract, official fee of 1 million euros according to Transfermarkt. But hidden in the deal details is a structure that rarely occurs in Ukrainian football.
What Karpaty actually sold
Dynamo acquired only 50% of the economic rights to the player. According to statements from both clubs' press services, Karpaty retains the right to receive half of the amount from Sich's next transfer — regardless of when and to whom Kyiv sells him.
Additionally, if Dynamo decides to sell the defender, the Lviv club will have the first right of refusal under the same conditions as any potential buyer. In effect, Karpaty didn't just get the money — they stayed in the game.
FC Karpaty retains the right to receive 50 percent of the amount from the footballer's next transfer.
— from the official statement of FC Karpaty
A player with a traumatic background
Sich came to Dynamo not in peak form. In March 2025, in the first playoff match of the Nations League against Belgium, he sustained damage to the medial collateral ligament of the knee and left the field in the 60th minute. He underwent rehabilitation at Karpaty, where in an incomplete season he played only 18 matches.
Journalist Viktor Vatsko, who tracked the negotiations, noted that last season Sich "was not at the same level as before the injury" — but at the same time assured that according to information from Lviv, the player had regained fitness and his knee was not bothering him. Dynamo conducted a medical examination on July 21 and confirmed the transfer.
Context: why now and why him
The right-back position remained problematic for Dynamo after the previous transfer window. According to TaToTake, negotiations regarding a foreign option fell through, and the club returned to the domestic market. Sich is a national team player with experience in the UPL (87 matches) and Belgian Kortrijk, where he played on loan in the 2022/23 season, as well as a silver medalist at the 2023 Youth Euro with Ukraine's U-21 team.
The transfer occurred after Dynamo's start in European competitions in the 2026/27 season — meaning Kyiv was filling a squad gap in real time, not for the future.
- Age: 25 years old
- Contract: until summer 2029 + option for another season
- Transfer fee: 1 million euros (Transfermarkt)
- Deal structure: 50% of economic rights remain with Karpaty
- UPL matches: 87 (Rukh + Karpaty)
If Sich secures a starting spot and Dynamo sells him for, say, 3–4 million euros, Karpaty will receive 1.5–2 million — twice to three times more than now. The question is whether the defender will recover to the level that attracted attention before his March injury: if his knee fails again under European competition load, this financial structure will prove beneficial to only one side.
