Lincoln City may have attempted to sign Kazakhstan international Islam Chesnokov before the winger moved to Scottish Premiership side Hearts last season.
Chesnokov’s agent, Yaroslav Zvarich, has revealed that an unnamed English club showed interest in his client while playing in League One. The clues contained within his account appear to point strongly towards the Imps, although City have not been named directly.
The agent described a club that was playing in the third tier when the initial approach was made, subsequently won promotion to the Championship and had previously signed a young Ukrainian player from the Czech top flight. I don’t recall Cardiff City or Bolton Wanderers signing a Ukrainian player from the Czech league, do you?
City fit all three parts of that description. We were in League One when Ivan Varfolomeev arrived from Slovan Liberec in August 2025, before winning the division and securing promotion to the Championship.
“At one point, there was even interest from a Championship club,” Zvarich told AS News. “They were playing in England’s third tier at the time. They bought a young Ukrainian player from the Czech league and were in constant contact with me, as I shared his profile.
“Later, they asked to bring Islam as well. I turned them down at the time, as the Hearts option was much more attractive.”
That would suggest the unnamed club first explored a move for Chesnokov while the Imps were still in League One, around the same period in which Varfolomeev was brought to Sincil Bank.
The 26-year-old eventually joined Hearts in January after signing a pre-contract agreement with the Edinburgh club. However, his stay in Scotland lasted only six months, with the winger returning to Tobol during the summer after making 11 appearances and scoring once.
According to Zvarich, the English club renewed its interest following promotion and explored the possibility of taking Chesnokov on loan. This time, the player rejected the opportunity because he had already decided to return to Kazakhstan.
“Later, when that club made it to the Championship, they wanted to loan Islam out for a season. However, Islam immediately declined and said he wanted to return to Kazakhstan.”
Chesnokov is primarily a right winger and has earned 26 caps for Kazakhstan, scoring three times. He enjoyed his most productive spell during his first period with Tobol, registering 24 goals across 68 league appearances between 2023 and 2025.
He was also the leading scorer in the Kazakhstan Premier League in 2024 and scored the winning goal as Tobol lifted the Kazakhstan Cup in 2023. His performances earned him the move to Hearts, although he was unable to establish himself during his brief spell in Scotland.
The agent’s account does not provide definitive confirmation that City were the interested party, and it is important not to present the connection as fact. However, the references to a promoted League One club and a young Ukrainian recruited from the Czech league make the Imps the obvious candidate.
Should that interpretation be correct, it offers another glimpse into the club’s overseas recruitment work and suggests Chesnokov was considered as a possible attacking addition for our first Championship campaign in 65 years.
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