"What if Artyom refuses Zenit's offer: Abramov about the future of Dzyuba and Smolov, as well as the prices of Miranchuk and Chalov

"It's hard to imagine who needs a footballer like Smolov in Europe"

- What positions should Zenit strengthen so as not to take the last place in the Champions League group again?

- In my opinion, Zenit has sufficiently strengthened its roster and is ready for the Champions League. It's just that last year the circumstances were unfortunate for the team. In addition, Malcolm, for whom decent money was paid, was recovering from his injury at that time. And then the team did not play completely. Now the champion's roster looks really impressive. Of course, the roster can be strengthened further. But if we are talking about high-quality reinforcement, expensive players of a high European level, whose cost exceeds € 40 million, are required. We are talking about the stars that transform the champion of the country into something more powerful. But they don't really want to go to Russia. I doubt that the blue-white-blue will be able to take at least one such performer for the upcoming Champions League.

- At the end of the season, a number of Russian Zenit players ended their contracts with the club, but nothing has been reported about their extension. Why is Zenit slow?

- This is due to technical issues. Now nobody wants to leave Zenit except for those who are sitting on the bench. If you think that Serdar Azmun, Artyom Dziuba or someone else will rush to Europe, you are wrong. At the moment, no one has any money, not only in Russia. I'm not looking forward to anything good in the transfer market. Moreover, I think it's worth a little wait, and you can buy many interesting performers at relatively bargain prices.

- But you yourself said that there is no money in Russia either.

- Now I'm only talking about Zenit and to some extent about Spartak, CSKA and Dynamo. But we are talking about spending that does not exceed € 10 million. Only Zenit will be able to buy players twice as expensive, including without risking disrupting financial fair play. The rest have a stigma in the cannon.

- Is Daler Kuzyaev really interested in foreign clubs, including Marseille, or is it some kind of stuffing in order to get a new contract from Zenit?

- 50 to 50. But what is Marseille? This is a hole compared to St. Petersburg. This salary is half of what he has at Zenit. If Kuzyaev so wants to go there, there are no questions. It would be another matter if he was invited to London or Madrid, or, for example, to Paris. But Daler will not be invited to PSG. If Kuzyaev's wages at Zenit are kept at the same level, why should he go to Europe?

- But there is an example of the same Fedor Smolov, who went to play in Spain.

- Moreover, he agreed to cut his salary by half. But Smolov, as they say, is foolish. He is all in tattoos, as if he served 15 years in a Russian prison. He wanted to shine somehow. Fedor has not been interested in money for a long time, a considerable amount has accumulated over the years of his career. He wanted to score against the best teams in Spain and made his dream come true. But they looked at him and realized: there was not enough speed, there was no movement, in hot weather he could not step on his throat. Who needs it there?

- Is it not worth waiting for Celta to buy Smolov from Lokomotiv?

- It's hard to guess who needs a footballer like Smolov in Europe. Is that it will take "Zenith". But I don't want to talk badly about Fedor. He's a really good footballer. Perhaps Smolov will find himself a team in Europe, but with an even greater salary reduction. I thought that he was good at Lokomotiv as well. 

- In the spring, there were a lot of rumors about Artyom Dziuba's departure to Europe. 

- Dziuba is a favorite of Russian fans. For him people come to stadiums all over the country. In Europe he will be nothing at first. Plus, there are only a few such extraordinary players in Zenit. And while Artyom keeps his high level, you need to cling to him with both hands.

As for the interest from Europe, if a football player is over 28 years old, they will not pay much for him, especially with a height above 195 cm. Indeed, with such dimensions, even a small injury can knock a person out of action for several months. Dziuba may leave as a free agent, but does he need it?

When we talked with him, I didn’t get the feeling that Artyom was dreaming of leaving, unlike the same Smolov. Fedor liked Europe even after the lease at Feyenoord. Dziuba is different. For example, he does not know foreign languages. Plus he is a family man, and it will not be easy for him to move to a new country. On the other hand, things can change overnight. Suddenly Dziuba will refuse Zenit's offer.

- If Artyom signs a new agreement with the club, will his salary decrease, given his age?

- It all depends on how Dziuba will behave. And he knows how to play by the rules. But decent people in Gazprom do not do stupid things, as they did in Spartak, letting Artyom go. Then they bargained with him to the last. If now Dziuba had good offers from Moscow clubs, it would strengthen his position in negotiations with Zenit. But, again, I don’t remember that St. Petersburgers did stupid things. Artyom is worth his money and works it off, so the club is obliged to give him as much as he already receives. Moreover, Dziuba has every right to count on a 10-20% increase.

- The contract with Zenit ends with Yuri Zhirkov. Should the club keep the veteran?

- There is still no left-back stronger than Zhirkov in Russia. There was no such player at Zenit either. If Yuri is healthy, he enters the field. I see no reason for Zenit to let go of the veteran. I think the agreement with him will be extended for a year, or - with the possibility of prolongation for one more.

“If Miranchuk shines in the Champions League, you can get € 70 million for him”

- Oleksiy Miranchuk scored seven goals for Lokomotiv in the summer and helped the team win silver. Should we expect him to leave the club at the next transfer window?

- He and his brother Anton are young footballers who can be sold in bulk. Lokomotiv now has money problems, and Russian Railways does not seek to waste funds. If the railroad workers did not take second place in the RPL and did not qualify for the Champions League group stage, one could assume that Alexei would be sold soon. And so, I think, they will leave him in order to release him later for an even greater amount. € 15-20 million is one thing, € 50 million and more is another. If Miranchuk shines in the Champions League, you can get € 70 million for him.

- Do you think this is a real amount for a Russian footballer?

- A matter of luck. After all, no one imagined that Dziuba at the home world championship would become a player in the main squad of the Russian national team and turn into the best striker in the country. There is a crisis in Europe, but there are great stars who are willing to pay big money for. The price of such performers never falls like rare diamonds.

- That is, Alexey Miranchuk is a diamond?

- Today it is the best thing that Russian football has for sale. He is young, but at the same time quite experienced. European clubs are already looking at him, but not to such an extent that they finally look at him. When Lokomotiv kicks someone in the face in the Champions League, potential buyers will understand that Miranchuk is really worth the money. The top clubs are always doing stupid things when they buy footballers high. 

- But the general director of the railway workers Vasily Kiknadze said that he would not let Alexei go for less than € 20 million.

- If he sells it to one of the strongest clubs in Italy or England with the right to 20% of further resale - that's one thing. It's another matter when a player goes to the middle team. For example, Alexander Golovin moved to Monaco. And who needs it now? But Yevgeny Giner sold it for € 30 million and is happy that he received twice as much as Golovin is actually worth. And for Miranchuk right now you can get about € 20 million.

- Next year Miranchuk's contract with Lokomotiv will expire. Is it worth waiting for the extension of the agreement with the railroad workers, or will the footballer leave for free in June 2021?

- He can leave if idiots work at Lokomotiv, but that's not the case. I think there is a certain agreement with Alexey. If it were not for it, the club would have sold it back in the winter, all the more interest was there. Alexey is a decent guy. The club created good conditions for him, gave him a high salary. Brother is near. He, in turn, will not want to engage in biting.

"In" Spartak "first report to Fedun, and he, for example, can go to rest"

- CSKA head coach Viktor Goncharenko said that the club has good opportunities to strengthen point-wise. CSKA can afford to spend serious money again?

- It is very difficult to predict what VEB will think of. Let's see if Maxim Oreshkin, a fan of the red and blue, will be able to convince these people that CSKA needs to give money in order to return the team to the top of the RPL and to the Champions League. After all, VEB's main task is to sell the club. CSKA is an absolutely non-core asset for the corporation. Therefore, it is possible that VEB will take certain risks. So, it came as a surprise to me that the army team had practically signed a contract with Adolfo Gaich.

- Can we expect that now the army team will be able to take not only young promising and inexpensive players, but also established masters?

- CSKA has already assembled a good team, CSKA only need a point reinforcement. I think Goncharenko stayed at the club just under these promises.

- It is reported that the European clubs are interested in Nikola Vlašić. Shouldn't CSKA in this case, at the first good offer, sell the Croat so that the situation with Fedor Chalov does not repeat itself?

- They say that Crystal Palace offered £ 25 million for Chalov in the summer. I would not give even half of this amount. It doesn't cost that much money. And Vlašić is a good player. But it was bought for € 16 million. If a Croatian is sold for twice that amount, it will be a great deal. But the coach can say, "Let's leave him." CSKA is important to have a well-played team.  

- Chalov himself, at the end of the season, finally began to score. Could there be renewed interest in it in Europe?

- Why not? If CSKA takes the Europa League, and Chalov scores ten, then he could be sold. How is it different? Do you think the army team will lose to everyone again, Fedor won't score anything, and they'll buy him? It doesn't work that way! But football is full of surprises.

- "Spartak" appointed Shamil Gazizov to the post of general director. Judging by how economically he spent his money at Ufa, shouldn't we expect serious spending from the Moscow club in the near future?

- "Spartak" is always accurate in the transfer market. The problem is that the club takes a long time to make decisions and loses the ability to buy the one it needs. Konstantin Sarsania resolved issues at Zenit within one working day. In the morning, he found out about the football player, and in the evening he already agreed on how to transfer money for him.

In "Spartak" first, everything is reported to Leonid Fedun, and he can, for example, go to rest. Everything is very slow. And it is not entirely clear why Thomas Zorn was removed. He spent money on Alex Kral, Gus Til and Alexander Sobolev, but I like these players. Sobolev is generally a wonderful acquisition.

- Can we assume that with the arrival of Gazizov, decisions in Spartak will be made more quickly?

- It's all about respect for a person. Remember when Spartak invited Kurban Berdyev to the position of head coach. He replied: "I agree, but on condition that Sarsania becomes the CEO." The specialist was refused. It's hard for me to say who will make decisions now. If they come to an agreement with Fedun, a lot can change. There must be trust in the club.