“There is no understanding”: where can the football player of “Zenith” Kokorin continue his career

The leader of the Russian Premier League Zenit went to the training camp without striker Alexander Kokorin - he will soon join the farm club of the St. Petersburg team Zenit-2, which plays in the Professional Football League. At the same time, there are more and more rumors about where the striker can continue his career. The footballer himself restrainedly comments on what is happening.

“The probability that I will accept an offer from this or that club can appear only after Zenit makes an official statement about me. I have a valid contract that I must fulfill. I have no understanding about my future, except that tomorrow I will join Zenit-2, ”Kokorin told Sport24.

According to media reports, the country's vice-champion, Moscow Lokomotiv, is showing interest in Kokorin. As part of the railway, Alexander can replace the striker Fyodor Smolov, who will spend the next six months on loan at the Spanish Celta. However, the forward himself was not able to assess the possibility of a transfer to the camp of red-green.

“I would be glad to say something, but I can’t do it,” the player added.

In turn, Lokomotiv denied this information. The chairman of the board of directors, Anatoly Meshcheryakov, admitted that for the first time he heard about the desire of the railway workers to replenish Kokorin.

“Ask those who write this ... If Messi came to me for free, then I would take it with Ronaldo,” Sport24 quotes Meshcheryakova.

According to sources, the return of Kokorin to the Moscow Dynamo is not ruled out. It was in the blue and white that the striker began his career in professional football and strengthened his status as one of the most talented domestic football players. In the period from 2008 to 2015, he spent 203 matches for the team, in which he scored 50 goals. It is not worth remembering the short-term transition to Anji in 2013 - Kokorin has never played for Makhachkala residents.

However, this information was refuted by stepfather and concurrently agent football player Kirill Loginov. According to him, Kokorin is not considering the option of returning to the Moscow club. At the same time, he also declined to comment on the possibility of Alexander moving to the European championship.

“I will leave questions about the termination of the contract and the priority of moving to Europe without comment. Better let Zenit say something. I already say a lot of things, ”Loginov said.

Thus, the future of Kokorin remains foggy. At the moment, the footballer is deprived of the opportunity to compete at the national championship level and is forced to focus on the game in PFL. Given Alexander’s skill level, playing in Russia's third-largest league is unlikely to contribute to a quick set of forms, and may also negatively affect his prospects.

At a minimum, he risks losing the chance to compete for being in the Russian national team for the 2020 European Championship.

It is worth recalling that the reason for Kokorin’s problems was his refusal to transfer to rent in Sochi. The leadership of “Zenith” agreed on his transfer to the Black Sea club, but the footballer flatly refused to consider such a prospect. As a result, the player was transferred to a backup team.

According to sources, Kokorin’s transfer to Sochi came as a surprise to both Sergei Semak and sports director Javier Ribalta. The Zenit head coach actively supported the football player and repeatedly stated that he was counting on Alexander in the second part of the season. The sports director was seriously surprised by the breakup with the Russian striker, especially valuable in the conditions of the limit on legionnaires.

At the same time, the Russian football community believes that in the near future it is not worth waiting for news about Kokorin's new job. And this despite the fact that the athlete’s contract expires in the summer of 2020, which allows him to negotiate with other clubs.

“Now it’s obvious that Kokorin will not remain at Zenith. Why is no one negotiating with him? Because they are blocked. They said: “Don’t mess, it’s none of your business,” Utkin said in his YouTube channel.

Also, the blogger expressed the opinion that the best option to continue a career for the striker would be a foreign club.

“Middle Europe, Eastern or maybe a small club in a more or less close to the top championship. This is the only option for Kokorin, ”he concluded.

In turn, the ex-Zenit midfielder Andrei Kobelev, the story of Kokorin's failed rental in Sochi seemed strange. In particular, he was outraged by the behavior of the leadership of the clubs, who prematurely announced the transfer of a football player. The specialist emphasized that before publicly announcing the signing of an athlete, it is necessary to enlist not only the consent of the club-lessor, but also the player himself.

“In my opinion, club leaders should be more professional in their responsibilities. I’m talking about an interview with Sochi CEO Dmitry Rubashko. It was wrong and illogical. How can we talk about a player’s transition without having yet signed a contract with him? ”Kobelev noted in an interview with RT.

In addition, the ex-coach of Dynamo expressed the opinion that Kokorin should not stay in the composition of Zenit-2, noting that the performance in the PFL does not correspond to the level of the striker.

“In my opinion, Alexander needs to play in the Premier League. He already lost a lot of time, why now vegetate for another six months in the PFL? You need to look for some way out. I think that Kokorin can be useful to absolutely any RPL team. Judging by the press reports, now three or four teams are not against seeing him at home, ”he stressed.

At the same time, he suggested that Kokorin is quite ready to lower his salary in order to be able to perform again at the highest level. He expressed the opinion that for the Zenit striker, the main thing now is to return to their level, and this is a doable task.

At the same time, Kobelev emphasized that in the process of choosing a new team, Kokorin needs to pay attention not only to the location of the team in the standings, but also to the figure of the head coach.

“In my opinion, Alexander needs to go to the coach, who sees him in the squad. The main thing for him today is not to stay on the bench. What is the point of going abroad to sit on a bench? I hope he will determine the team as soon as possible and begin to play, ”concluded the specialist.