In the attack, hope only for Dziuba and Azmun

The signing of a contract with Spartak by Alexander Kokorin was another unpleasant news for Zenit fans this offseason. For one reason or another, the club failed to retain one of the strongest strikers in Russia, who scored seven goals in ten matches in the RPL season that ended.

And in St. Petersburg, the striker clearly came to court. In 92 meetings for the blue-white-blue in all tournaments, he scored 34 goals and gave 12 assists. In addition, Kokorin is famous for his versatility, because he can play not only in the center-forward position, but also on both flanks of the attack. Plus, Alexander quickly established an understanding on the field with Artyom Dzyuba.

On the one hand, Zenit has long been accustomed to the absence of Kokorin, since he played the last match for the team almost two years ago, and before that he was recovering from a severe knee injury for a long time.

On the other hand, it was no coincidence that Semak made it clear in every possible way that he needed a Russian when he was sent on loan to Sochi. With him, the coaching staff of Petersburgers would have the opportunity to vary tactical schemes, as well as rotate the squad in a busy schedule.

Now Zenit, if no other acquisitions are made, will have to rely only on Serdar Azmun and Dziuba in the attack line, as in the previous season. The duo had a great season. The attackers, having scored 17 goals each, shared the first place in the RPL scorers' race.

However, in case of unforeseen circumstances, such as injury or disqualification, Zenit will face problems, because at the moment only Sebastian Driussi can replace the main forwards, whom Semak often uses on the flank. In addition, we must not forget that Dziuba will turn 32 in August. At the same time, taking into account the matches of the Russian national teams in August-December, a serious load will fall on him. In all tournaments Artyom will play 34 games.

An unequal replacement for departed Russians

Kokorin was not the only footballer with a Russian passport who did not renew his contract with Zenit in the summer. In addition to him, Igor Smolnikov and Oleg Shatov left the club. Both have not been the main players of the team lately. The defender on the right flank of the defense lost the competition to Vyacheslav Karavaev, and the midfielder experienced health problems and was more often content with substitutions.

However, they were important players in the cage, providing the Petersburgers with sufficient depth of the squad, which became one of the champion's strengths. In addition, Shatov and Smolnikov had considerable experience. It is no coincidence that Zenit hoped to keep Igor, but he decided to return to Krasnodar.

Also, a new agreement with Zenit has not yet been signed by midfielder Daler Kuzyaev, famous for his versatility and tenacity. Its representatives are trying in every possible way to find a job for the player in Europe. One of the heroes of the Russian national team at the home world championship, like Shatov, suffered from injuries, but in the summer he took part in almost all matches and scored the winning goal against Spartak in the semifinals of the Russian Cup.

If he also leaves the team, this will significantly weaken the roster of Petersburgers, because it is very difficult to find such a versatile player who can play in any position in the center of the field. In this case, the champion can come up to the new season with only five central midfielders, two of whom are young Leon Musaev and Daniil Shamkin.

Danil Krugovoy, Denis Terentyev and Andrey Mostovoy, who returned from leases, joined the team instead of the departed Russians. Terentyev was supposed to play the role of Karavaev's reservist on the right flank of the defense, but in St. Petersburg he was never in demand and even played for Zenit-2 in the FNL. Denis spent the last season at Ufa.

Left-back Krugovoy also played there. At first, it will be objectively difficult for the 22-year-old footballer of the Russian youth national team not only to compete with Yuri Zhirkov with Douglas dos Santos, but also, if necessary, to adequately replace them.

It is difficult to say whether the left winger Mostovoy will also play in Zenit. Andrey spent his debut season in the RPL with Sochi at a good level, but there are no guarantees that he will receive the same amount of playing time in St. Petersburg and cope with the burden of responsibility.

So instead of experienced footballers, whose skill level was well known to the coaching staff and fans, Zenit got young players whose adaptation may take a long time. This is a serious blow to the team's cage ahead of an extremely difficult season, in which proper rotation will play a huge role in achieving success.

At the same time, the team's footballers playing for the Russian national team will have 34 meetings from August to December. During this period, they will almost always be forced to go out on the field twice a week without the opportunity to get a break, and therefore will not be able to avoid recessions.

Lack of money for transfers

Obviously, in this situation, the team would not be in the way of newcomers, but it is far from the fact that Zenit can afford to spend a lot on the transfer market. So, close to the team commentator Gennady Orlov said that the club "has no money for acquisitions."

“From“ Zenith ”Driussi may leave, and he does not hide it. He tells friends that he wants to leave for the USA. If Sebastian is sold, earned, they can take someone. I know that now Zenit has no money for acquisitions, unless Driussi and Emiliano Rigoni leave, ”Orlov said on the air of the Ekho Moskvy radio. 

So far, the champion has only managed to buy Dejan Lovren for € 12 million (according to Transfermarkt) from Liverpool to replace Branislav Ivanovic. Zenit's newcomer has serious experience and played at the highest level, in particular, becoming the owner of the Champions League.

However, the Croat's acquisition raises questions. First, he is already 31 years old. Another central defender of the team, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, turned the same. Obviously, such a bunch will experience difficulties in confronting fast and technical attackers.

Secondly, Dejan is a very injury-prone footballer. During his six years at Liverpool, he missed a total of 45 games in all tournaments due to various injuries. Thirdly, after the arrival of Virgil van Dyck, the Croat lost the competition for a place at the base of the Merseysiders to Joel Matip and in the last two seasons got into the starting lineup only in case of injuries or disqualifications of teammates.

Moreover, there is a risk that Zenit will remain with only three central defenders, taking into account 19-year-old Danila Prokhin. Jordan Osorio, whom Zenit leased from Porto, will soon return to Portugal. According to media reports, Petersburgers do not intend to pay € 7-8 million for his transfer.

Emanuel Mammana missed seven months due to injury and entered the field for the first time in 2020 in July. It is reported that the Argentine is likely to join Sochi on a temporary basis.

In this case, Zenit will at least solve the problem with the limit on foreign players. According to the new rules, RPL clubs can only apply for eight foreigners to the season. Petersburgers currently have nine of them.

Perhaps another Argentinean Rigoni, who has already been loaned to Atalanta and Sampdoria, will become an extra player. And if one or a number of legionnaires are sold, the champion can get money for transfers.

In the meantime, the fans can only be content with rumors. So, in the domestic media wrote about a possible move to St. Petersburg Denis Cheryshev, but he allegedly intends to stay in "Valencia".