Strengthening vulnerable positions and hopes for profitable resale: why CSKA began to massively buy footballers

To the surprise of many fans and experts, CSKA became the main newsmaker of the RPL during the summer transfer window. After the start of the add-on period, the army team has already acquired three players - in addition to forward Adolfo Gaich, the team was joined by midfielder Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov and defender Bruno Fuchs. But if you believe the media, the club is currently actively looking for a new defensive midfielder and flank striker and is already in contact with a number of possible newcomers.

Considering the current situation in the team, carrying out large-scale work to strengthen the composition can be considered a completely logical step. In recent years, the red and blue could not boast of a large number of players, but in the 2019/20 season, the situation became critical. Especially clearly there was a lack of performers in the defensive and attacking lines, which is why 17-year-old Vadim Karpov was forced to go to the center of defense at that time, and Fyodor Chalov could not take a break. And this despite the fact that most of the season of the championship, the forward experienced serious problems with implementation, but there was virtually no one to replace him. As a result, CSKA took fourth place for the second year in a row and was left without the Champions League, the fee for the performance in which was one of the main lines of the club's income.

If at the end of the penultimate season, many predicted a bright future for the current convocation of CSKA, then the past championship largely refuted these predictions. Many fans and experts were disappointed in the invited legionnaires and stated that they did not correspond to the level of the top RPL club. And this despite the fact that a year ago Kristian Bistrovich, Jaka Biyol and Arnor Sigurdsson were considered the future stars of the league and the unconditional transfer successes of the red and blue. Perhaps the leadership of the army team lost faith in its players, which decided to restructure the team.

At the moment, three players have been acquired, the purchase of each of which looks more than reasonable. Gaych's arrival added power and variability in the attacking line, allowing Viktor Goncharenko to provide Chalov with a long-awaited rest. Yes, while the Argentinean has not been able to show off effective actions, but already in the match against Zenit he managed to demonstrate his importance. It was after his departure that the Petersburgers finally seized the initiative and subsequently scored the winning goal. Even though Adolfo did not always manage to catch the ball, his presence forced the hosts to act with a greater focus on defense.

As for Fuchs, his transfer should raise even fewer questions. CSKA was in dire need of a high-quality central defender, which only confirmed the RPL round four match against Rubin. In the absence of the injured Kirill Nababkin, Viktor Vasin returned to the main team, but again played unsuccessfully. This time he made a gross mistake in the episode with a goal by Saltmurad Bakaev. Thus, Vasin again demonstrated that he was never able to return to the previous level after a severe injury in 2018.

Yes, 21-year-old Fuchs also does not have much experience in performing and can be considered a "pig in a poke". Last season, the defender made just six top-level games for Internacional - four in the Copa Libertadores and two in the Brazilian Championship. In this regard, the signing can be called risky, but after all, at about the same age, Rodrigo Becao came to Moscow, who later moved to Udinese. The CSKA scouting service very rarely makes mistakes, and the club itself very rarely throws away large sums of money. According to Transfermarkt, Fuchs' transfer cost € 8 million, while the Russian media write about € 9.5 million.

The transfer of Zainutdinov also raises few questions. He can play both in the position of an attacking midfielder and on the edge, which CSKA now needs. In a system with three central defenders, he is able to both pair up with Nikola Vlašić in the center and take a place on the flank.  

According to sources, the transfer amount was € 2 million. This is a small amount of money for a promising midfielder. Last season, he scored four goals and gave two assists in 19 games, which is not outstanding, but a decent result. Especially considering the fact that in only ten meetings the midfielder spent more than an hour on the field. In addition, according to the changes in the regulations, since this season, Kazakhstani Zainutdinov is not considered a legionnaire, which is an extremely important factor in the current limit.

All three CSKA rookies fit perfectly into the club's development concept. They are all under 25, which makes them an important asset. In case of a successful performance, the army team can sell them to Europe and earn money. Over the past 15 years, this course has been followed by Jo, Milos Krasic, Alexander Golovin and others.

However, CSKA's transfer campaign is not limited to three purchases. According to rumors, the club is currently actively negotiating with six more players, and all of them are legionnaires. Due to the fact that at the moment there are seven foreigners in the army team's application, it is hard to believe that they seriously expect to acquire all of them, but the arrival of a couple of newcomers is quite possible. Especially taking into account the information that appeared about the possible departure of Yaki Biyola. According to Match TV, the Slovenian can go on loan.

Against this background, CSKA's intentions to acquire a quality holding midfielder seem quite logical. Over the past two seasons, it has been repeatedly reported about Goncharenko's desire to get a masterful "breakwater". This is probably the reason for the interest in Fausto Vera from Argentinos Juniors and João Palligne from Sporting.

Both specialize in defensive actions and can become an analogue of Vilmar Barrios for the army. 20-year-old Vera has just begun to gain the trust of the coach in the team, but has already shown good performance. So, on average, he made two interceptions and 1.8 tackles per match. Compared to him, Pagligna looks much more experienced. In the last championship, he appeared on the field 24 times and took sixth place in the number of tackles per game (3.0). According to this indicator, he surpassed the Porto midfielder Otavio, who is estimated at € 18 million.

When I personally tested the abilities of newcomers on the # VEBaren field 😁🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/5efRwDNT7p

If the army men stop at acquiring one defensive player and give Biyol on loan, they will have a place to sign one more player. According to rumors, Goncharenko is interested in inviting the right winger, because CSKA does not have a lot of choice among the performers of this role. Sigurdsson and Konstantin Kuchaev tend to act on the left flank, which is why Ivan Oblyakov and Ilzat Akhmetov, who prefer to be located in the center, sometimes had to go on the right.

The names of two Romanian footballers of the FCSB - Dennis Mana and Florinel Comana, as well as the Nigerian legionnaire "Heerenveen" Chidera Edjuke are named. They are all under 25 years of age and have the potential for successful resale in the future. At the same time, the last two are universals and can close both the right and left curbs.

At the moment, it is reported that CSKA is much closer to signing a contract with Edjuke. And this despite the fact that a Nigerian will cost twice as much as a couple of Romanians. So, the transfer of the winger "Heerenveen" is estimated at € 12 million - the same as the transfer of both representatives of the Romanian team. It is noteworthy that the Dutch team has already reported that Chidera is negotiating a transfer and will miss the next training camp.

Of course, it is hardly worth expecting that the newcomers will immediately take on the role of leaders and allow CSKA to fight on equal terms for the championship with Zenit. It is enough to look at expensive Gaich, who is only adapting to the RPL game. First of all, these are football players for the future, albeit with the potential to become the stars of the Russian championship, if not this one, then next season. But earlier, Goncharenko managed to show good results, even with an extremely limited roster of players at hand. A solid gain can help him do more.

In recent years, CSKA has taught that it is extremely reluctant to spend money on newbies and makes a maximum of a couple of acquisitions in the transfer window, so the current surge in activity seems to be something special. But, by and large, the red-blue ones carry out point amplification, adding one representative of the deficient role each. This should help the army team to avoid falling results, because the coach does not have to build too many new elements into the scheme at the same time.