It looks like the Imps are edging closer to a deal for Ukrainian Under 21 international Ivan Varfolomeyev, with a figure spotted at the club ground yesterday.
Draped in a Ukrainian flag, and subtly leaked by BBC Radio Lincolnshire, all indications point to the 21-year-old Slovan Liberec player finally closing in on a deal with the Imps. Of course, it won’t be as straightforward as bringing in a player from our own country, with cross-border clearance and all sorts required.
That means that while a deal is potentially close, an official club channel cannot say too much, not until everything is complete. Was yesterday a clever leak to keep fans in the loop, but without letting anything official out? A player openly walking around the club’s home ground, draped in his country’s flag, is not exactly keeping things under wraps.
Whatever the situation, it does appear that we’re moving towards a ground-breaking acquisition, one that elevates us towards the top end of League One recruitment. An active Under 21 international moving from a club in the top flight is big – the Czech League is rated above 2. Bundesliga, Serie B and the top flights of Norway, Croatia and Austria. Slovan Liberec are ranked slightly below us in the same rankings, a change that has only occurred in the past few days. We’re now the 518th highest-ranked team in the world, up 51 places in seven days, while Liberec have fallen to 528, down 31.
That’s the Varfolomeyev effect.
Complications of Signing An Overseas Player
The transfer is likely to take a bit more time, hence the lack of official news. Since the UK left the EU (boo), overseas players require a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) to gain a work permit, awarded through either international experience or by earning 15 points on the FA’s system. Varfolomeev does not meet those thresholds.
However, in 2023 the FA introduced the Elite Significant Contribution (ESC) scheme, allowing clubs limited slots to sign players who fall short of GBE. League One sides are given two slots, with City already using one last season on Erik Ring, who has yet to “convert” by playing 60% of league minutes. That leaves the Imps with just one remaining, which we appear ready to use on Varfolomeyev. We have certainly taken our time, and links to other players across Europe have come and gone, but it seems we’ve finally found the sweet spot.
The Ukrainian midfielder qualifies for ESC due to his under-21 international caps and appearances in the Czech second tier. While his quality remains untested at this level, the deal is viewed as really smart business with potential resale value. The trade-off is that we will then have no remaining ESC slots until 2026 unless Ring or Varfolomeev meet the required playing-time threshold, effectively limiting their ability to recruit further foreign players.
Only clips I could find of this Ivan Varfolomeev #imps pic.twitter.com/I3sFHwj8iI
— 🔴⚪️ (@youimps_) August 12, 2025
What Next?
There are mutterings of this being a club record deal, and while that may be the case, do not expect the club to shout that. Varfolomeyev is 21, and he’s had quite a career so far. His family are from Crimea, he’s had to leave his war-torn homeland for another country to pursue his football career, and now he’s making another big move across borders. He’s clearly a huge talent, slightly unknown within English football, but he absolutely must be bursting with potential.
However, he’s coming from a different division, one that offers alternative challenges. Settling won’t be easy, and he’ll need to be afforded time. For that to happen, I imagine any tag such as ‘club record’ will be avoided. Instead, he’ll be treated like any other member of the squad, and rightly so. The fact we’ve paid more for him than any player before is, largely, irrelevant, because we’re in a better place than ever before in terms of trading. Never has our football club generated such big sums of money and therefore had the ability to spend a little more.
What I would say is I don’t feel this should be seen as a marquee signing in the traditional sense. Of course, it’s huge, and we should applaud the board for their bravery in sanctioning a deal and the recruitment team for making it happen. But, I think Ivan Varfolomeyev could simply be the first in a big shift. We want to be spending £400,000, £500,000 on players, and turning them around for £1 million, £2 million, or (even better) leveraging their ability to climb the divisions. A marquee signing can be two things: a signing that is out of the ordinary and made for immediate impact, and one we shout from the rooftops about. We’ll shout about this, but the long-term hope is that it is simply the pattern moving forward, and in five year’s time, Lincoln City spending a healthy six figures on a player will not be out of the ordinary.