English clubs look east for new footballers

Published 03 January, 2009, 13:27

No progress has been made concerning the transfer of Andrey Arshavin from Zenit to Arsenal, said the Gunner’s coach, Arsene Wenger.

Wenger told the journalists in London, “If we eventually buy him, we’ll definitely tell you about it. I promise.”

Earlier, it was reported that Arsenal was ready to pay ₤20 million for the player, who lead both Zenit Saint Petersburg to UEFA Cup victory and the Russian national team to bronze medals at Euro 2008.

Yury Zhirkov

Meanwhile, the coach of another London club, Chelsea, Luiz Felipe Scolari said he’d like to have Russia’s player of the Year Yury Zhirkov in his squad. The CSKA winger is seen as a replacement for Wayne Bridge, who leaves for Manchester City during the winter break.

Juventus and Barcelona also want to buy Zhirkov’s transfer, but Chelsea looks the favourite in this battle because of friendly relations between Roman Abramovich and CSKA’s president, Eugeny Giner.

The only reason for the move to be cancelled is the fact that Zhirkov is fully satisfied with his position in CSKA and is far less eager to change clubs than Andrey Arshavin.

Pavel Pogrebnyak

Another Zenit player, UEFA Cup’s 2007/08 top scorer Pavel Pogrebnyak, may also travel to England during the current transfer window. His destination, however, is not London, but Liverpool.

Local side Everton is said to be eager to pay €9.5 million for the player, who wants to test his skills in one of the world’s strongest championships.

Yet another club that is interested in the striker is Marseille. The French side is offering a bigger sum than Everton – € 12 million.

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