Which of the six Russians will remain at Zenit?
Perhaps, the composition of the current champion of the country “Zenith” can change most strongly in the summer. In June, seven team players expire their contracts right away, and six of them are Russians. Including the agreement ends with the leader of the attacks of blue-white-blue Artyom Dziuba. Back in December last year, there was news that a new agreement was signed with him under the 2 + 1 scheme with an annual salary of € 3.6 million, but the club did not confirm this information.
On Tuesday, Italian media reported on the possible transfer of the Russian national team striker to Lazio, but Zenit CEO Alexander Medvedev denied these rumors.
“Dziuba is a key Zenit footballer. And he will play with us, ”quotes the Sport Express functionary.
It is difficult to name the rest of the domestic football players who may leave St. Petersburg in the summer as team leaders. Nevertheless, they play an important role in the rotation of the composition. Yuri Zhirkov, Mikhail Kerzhakov, Oleg Shatov, Daler Kuzyaev and Igor Smolnikov receive different amounts of playing time, but regularly appear on the field.
Nevertheless, the contract has not yet been extended with any of them. Shatov and Kuzyaev are more treated than played. Over the past year and a half, midfielders missed for two 277 days. Smolnikov lost the competition to Vyacheslav Karavaev and, based on the words of his agent Alexander Manyakov, could go to the MLS club.
The media are silent about Kerzhakov’s future, but he’ll probably remain in the team, because this season Mikhail managed to impose competition on the unstable Andrei Lunev, who began to make mistakes. It is difficult to assume that Sergey Semak will agree to the departure of an experienced goalkeeper.
Zhirkov may well remain, who, despite his age, is still an important player for Petersburgers. For example, the 36-year-old veteran is second only to Artyom Dziube (25), Serdar Azmun (19) and Magomed Ozdoev (9) by the number of points for performance (7).
At the same time, it is difficult to assume that Zenit will release even half of its Russians, because in the coming season a new limit will begin to apply to legionnaires, and Semak will need home-grown players at least for rotation. Therefore, even those leaving must acquire an adequate replacement.
What will the RPL grandees do with age-old legionnaires?
Also in the “Zenith” in the summer the contract will expire with the main central defender Branislav Ivanovich. The 36-year-old footballer missed only three games this season, and without it it is difficult to imagine the defensive line of the Petersburgers. But judging by the media, he will not stay in the city on the Neva. Allegedly, the Serb wanted to extend the agreement for two years on existing terms (€ 3.3 million). The club did not go for it.
Several age-specific players may leave Krasnodar at once. We are talking about Manuel Fernandes, Marcus Berg and Ari, who have already turned 101 for three. In the context of the financial crisis, Southerners are unlikely to extend their cooperation with the attacking trinity. Moreover, Murad Musaev is always ready to give a chance to the students of the Academy and when to do it, if not in the context of the emerging financial crisis.
However, Ari still has a chance to stay in Krasnodar. Looking at the game of a naturalized Brazilian, it's hard to believe that he is already 34 years old. This season, the striker with eight goals is the team's top scorer.
In Spartak, the prolongation of contracts with leaders was attended to in advance. This year, the agreement will expire only with Lorenzo Melgarejo, with the exception of Andre Schurrle and Alexander Sobolev rented from other clubs. The Paraguayan has been in the team for more than four years, but at the end of the season, if he resumes, he can leave the club. In the new year, Domenico Tedesco gave him only 18 minutes of playing time, and there is no sense in extending it with a 30-year-old station wagon, given the high competition and the stake on other artists.
How will Lokomotiv rejuvenate?
But the “Locomotive” in the summer is waiting for a serious renewal of the composition. In June, seven football players will immediately expire contracts, and all of them are older than 30 years: Jefferson Farfan, Vladislav Ignatiev, Maciej Rybus, Alexander Kolomeytsev, Eder, Anton Kochenkov, Boris Rotenberg. For Yuri Semin this is a great opportunity to rejuvenate the team.
However, some of the above list may remain in the camp of railway workers. First of all, we are talking about Ignatiev with Rybus, who so far have no alternative on the flanks of defense. True, in April it was reported that the Pole was going to move to one of the Turkish Super League clubs.
It will be hard to red-green without Eder, if the club does not buy a new striker. After all, the future of Fyodor Smolov is still vague. He himself does not hide the fact that he wants to stay in Celta after the end of the lease. Almost certainly, the second goalkeeper of Loko Kochenkov, who in the current season several times worthily replaced Marinato Guillerme and even repelled a penalty kick in the Champions League match against Atlético, will almost certainly retain his status.
But 35-year-old Farfan is likely to change the team. It will be difficult to understand a different solution in the situation of an age-old legionnaire who has not played due to an injury for a year. Even with an eye on its usefulness in the championship season.
Will the Russian Germans change their Dynamo registration?
In addition to Ari, contracts for two other naturalized legionnaires, who were noted in the Russian national team, Konstantin Rausch and Roman Neustedter, will end in the summer. In August, ethnic Germans reunited in Dynamo and are currently doing everything to make the team rise as high as possible in the RPL standings. Both quite worked out on new agreements, although they crossed the 30-year threshold.
The novel is the main defensive midfielder of blue and white, and Konstantin is indispensable on the left flank. In the spring he was in great shape. In the match with Tambov, the defender gave the decisive goal assist to Nikolai Komlichenko, and in the game with Akhmat he himself scored a goal.
Where will Bikfalvi and Despotovich continue their careers?
With a high degree of probability, club leaders from the second half of the tournament table will also go on increasing. If we take the legionnaires, then strikers can take forward “Ural” and “Orenburg” Eric Bikfalvi and George Despotovich. Both are the leaders of their teams and are quite capable of attracting the higher class teams.
Moreover, Despotovich admitted in the fall that Dmitry Khokhlov and Oleg Kononov showed interest in him. Now, neither one nor the other in the RPL are working. But the Serb, who scored eight goals in the current season of the national championship, can still interest Russian top clubs.
George's candidacy is suitable for those who have problems with the attackers of Lokomotiv and CSKA. Yes, and “Krasnodar” in the event of the departure of Ari and / or Berg, the striker is quite capable of helping. Moreover, you don’t have to pay for it, and the football player himself does not need to write out such a contract as players from Europe. In the meantime, Orenburg expects to retain its leader.
“He has a valid contract, he remains in our club. I personally made him an offer for an extension. He said that if he has a desire to play in Orenburg, we will discuss. And so, I repeat, no one has yet contacted about Despotovich’s transition, ”the Championship quotes club president Vladimir Kiyayev as saying.
Chances of Bikfalvi to move to the top club are much lower, because he is already 32 years old. Nevertheless, the Romanian is a very strong and versatile footballer. He is ready to play in several positions at once, has a good hit and is able to give an unpredictable transmission. However, in the contract of the striker with Ural, according to the agent of the football player Daniel Dragos, there is a clause on automatic renewal for a year, "if the club or the player does not have disagreements."
Who is interested in Merkulov and Konovalov?
Of the promising Russians, mainly fighting for survival, domestic grandees have long been interested in Ural defender Mikhail Merkulov and Rubin’s defender Igor Konovalov. Both could change their club registration last year, but remained in their original places.
True, Merkulov ceased to receive game practice in 2020. In Yekaterinburg, they decided that the footballer was not experiencing the proper motivation when he entered the field wearing a bumblebee t-shirt.
“A person does not want to play in our team. Some football figures told him that he did not get into the national team just because he was playing for the Urals. Like, Yekaterinburg is a village ... Since he considers us a village, although he was taught to play football here, let him sit until the summer. And then he will leave wherever he wants, ”Sport Express quotes the president of Ural Grigory Ivanov.
But Konovalov plays in Rubin on an uncontested basis. It is possible that after joining the team of Leonid Slutsky, the midfielder decides not to seek happiness on the side, but remains in Kazan to progress along with his current team, which gave him the way to the RPL. Otherwise, a 23-year-old football player may be of interest to almost all Russian top clubs. He is good at destruction, competently reads the game, joins the pressure. In addition, Igor has a good pass.
Who will pay attention to Russian veterans?
In addition to Zhirkov, several other veteran Russians expire their contracts in the summer. Among them, the most experienced football player of the current RPL season is 39-year-old Sergey Ryzhikov. The age did not prevent the two-time champion of Russia until recently, being the main goalkeeper of Krylia Sovetov. However, in the spring he took to the reserve, and after the suspension of the championship, the athlete’s agent Alexei Safonov said that the Samara team was not going to renew the contract with his client. But Ryzhikov’s career is not going to end.
“Of course I would like to play in Europe. Perhaps not even in the elite league, but in the Segund or the second Bundesliga. Why not? If after the end of my career I connect life with football, and I want to become a coach, I would like to see how everything works there. When they called me to the national team, I tried to ask Pavel Pogrebnyak, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, as it were. In a completely different way, here’s how it is, ”the Match Premier television channel quoted Ryzhikov as saying.
The contract will end in June at the aforementioned Pogrebnyak. This season, 36-year-old Pavel benefits Ural. In all tournaments, he chalked up four goals. It is possible he will still play in the Premier League, especially since Paul has tremendous experience. He made his debut in the elite back in 2002, when, for example, CSKA defender Vadim Karpov was only 10 days old.
Denis Glushakov and Kirill Nababkin are three years younger than Pogrebnyak and are definitely not going to end their careers. The ex-captain of Spartak is the most important player of Akhmat, and will invariably fall into the main squad of Grozny. The only question is whether the team from the Chechen Republic will keep a residence permit in the elite.
But Nababkin in CSKA is increasingly on the bench, and injuries do not bypass the defender. But an experienced football player can still be useful to CSKA at least in the role of “uncle-mentor” for young partners. Especially the red-blue Cyril gave 11 years of a career.