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Gazprom’s Zenit turned down for Bystrov, tug-of-war continues
Published: 26 August, 2009, 20:24
TAGS: Sport, Football, Russian Premier League
Former Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg have suffered another setback in their hunt for big names to replace former stars. That's after Spartak Moscow refused to sell them midfielder Vladimir Bystrov.
However, Spartak coach Valery Karpin didn't rule out the possibility whatsoever, saying “they could agree to Bystrov's move, if Zenit come up with a square deal”.
In Bystrov’s contract there is a clause saying the club will have to let the player go in case the other side offers more than €15 million as a transfer fee. So if Zenit, who are backed by Gazprom, are aggressive, the only obstacle for Bystov’s move would be the player’s own desire to stay with Spartak Moscow.
Bystrov started his career in Zenit Saint Petersburg back in 2001 and joined Spartak in 2005 after a conflict with the club’s former coach, Vlastimil Petrzhela, scoring 23 goals in 172 appearances in the Russian Premier League. He also has 24 caps and 4 goals for Russia. He was on Guus Hiddink’s resurgent Russian squad, which reached the semis at Euro 2008.
Spartak are currently second in the Russian Premier League, while the St. Petersburg side are far behind in the middle of the table.
The St. Petersburg side are searching for a replacement for their former captain, Anatoly Timoschuk, who moved on to Bayern Munich, and are also in need of a striker, as Andrey Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak are both gone.
They have been linked with Aleksandr Kerzhakov, but the Dynamo and Russia forward has so far denied he's been approached by the club.
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