To the envy of Zenit and Spartak: how the “western” development strategy of the club earned in Lokomotiv

Marko Nikolic's wards continue to move confidently through the season of the Russian Championship, simultaneously confirming the status of one of the most attractive and developing teams of the tournament. At the same time, the railway workers not only demonstrate modern football by European standards, but also reinforce it with an interesting and forward-looking transfer policy aimed at unlocking the potential of young domestic and foreign players. All this makes Lokomotiv one of the most interesting RPL teams, whose formation and transformation is interesting to watch.

And this is especially interesting considering the background of which rearrangements Lokomotiv approached the start of the current championship. Most recently, it changed its leadership, and in the summer the red-greens began cooperation with the well-known European specialist Ralph Rangnick. At one time, the German managed to work as the head coach of Hoffenheim and Stuttgart, and later became the ideologist of the Red Bull teams - Leipzig, Salzburg, New York and Bragantino. The opportunity to use the services of such a professional seemed like a huge help to the railway workers, but the excitement subsided after some details were revealed.

Firstly, in Lokomotiv, Rangnik was introduced as the new director for sports and development, but the German himself did not confirm his appointment to this position. The media reported that he would only act as an advisor and advise the management regarding transfers. Secondly, the appointment of Thomas Zorn to the post of technical director and rumors about the sale of football players that appeared in the press after that caused skepticism. In light of this, many recalled the period of the functionary in Spartak, when in the shortest possible time many of the current leaders left him - Luiz Adriano, Ze Luis, Fernando.

It was then that the media reported that Fedor Smolov, Rifat Zhemaletdinov, Dmitry Barinov and others could leave Lokomotiv, but in the end only the age Grzegorz Krykhovyak was sold. On the one hand, even at the age of 31, the Pole remained one of the leaders of the railroad workers and could certainly be in the top 20 best RPL players, but there was still logic in this transfer. His contract expired in 2022, so the next summer he could leave as a free agent. Apparently, the red-greens were not interested in extending the agreement and decided to earn at least some money.

However, entrance transfers were much more interesting and showed in which direction the club plans to develop. According to Transfermarkt, in the summer Lokomotiv spent about € 30 million on new acquisitions, the vast majority of which were long-term purchases. The average age of newcomers was only 22.8 years, and they included both promising Russians and foreigners. The oldest were 25-year-old ex-Bayer's defender Tin Jedvay and former Utrecht forward Girano Kerk. And one of the most discussed were the rent of the attacking Chelsea midfielder Faustino Angorina and the invitation of the Kan defender Alexis Beck-Beck.

Separately, it is worth noting the story of the purchase of two CSKA students - Konstantin Maradishvili and Nair Tiknizyan, which cost the railway workers a total of € 12 million. occasionally got a chance to prove himself on the field. The first one practically lost playing time after the appearance in the club of Maxim Mukhin - by the way, the ex-defensive player of Lokomotiv, and the second could not win the competition either against Chidera Edzhuke, or against Ivan Oblyakov, who had recently been forced to play the role of left-back. Nevertheless, Rangnick insisted on the transfer of both, personally calling up with parents, agents and the athletes themselves.

While judging the level of acquired players is equal. Many of them managed to make their debut only in the seventh round match against Wings of the Soviets, while Maradishvili and Andjorin spent only 20 minutes on the field in total. But if Kerk has not yet managed to immediately join the new team, then Yedvay, Beka-Beka and Tiknizyan performed quite successfully. Although they were not noted for effective actions, they performed their functions well. In many ways, this helped Nikolic's wards to win the fourth victory and briefly lead the RPL standings. True, two hours later they were displaced by Zenit.

In general, Lokomotiv's current approach to team building is similar to that used in Leipzig or Salzburg. The club buys talented young footballers who fit a specific tactical scheme and are able to develop comfortably within it, as well as have the prospect of further resale. And in the current conditions, this seems to be the most logical way. This not only allows them to maintain integrity and constantly progress, but can also help to become part of the European market and gradually improve their financial condition.

Recently, it has been repeatedly reported that one of the goals of railway workers is to reduce dependence on the main sponsor - the Russian Railways company. And such a transfer policy can just help with this. Undoubtedly, it will not be possible to immediately see the fruits of this work, but in the future, the footballers acquired in the summer of 2021 may well be profitably sold to other Russian or foreign clubs.

In this regard, the example for Lokomotiv can be the same Austrian Salzburg, which has earned annually on transfers over the past seven years. In total, during this period, representatives of the not the strongest and hyped championship of the continent sold football players worth € 434.15 million, and spent only € 103.84 million on acquiring new ones. At the same time, such famous players as Erling Holland, Sadio Mane, Dominic Soboslai, Dayo Upamekano, Naby Keita and even Wanderson, who now defends the colors of Krasnodar.

At one time in Russia, CSKA practiced a similar thing, when it acquired talented foreigners, nurtured and sold for big money to the Bundesliga, Serie A and Premier League clubs. But over time, the scouting service of the army began to work not so successfully, as a result of which the efficiency significantly decreased. Therefore, recently, one of the brightest examples of the implementation of such a strategy was "Rostov". In this regard, last year was the most successful, as a result of which the yellow-blues earned € 19.55 million on transfers, most of them (€ 10.02) were subsequently used to recruit a new line-up - a classic example of the development of many European middle-class teams.

True, if Rostov mostly gave players to competitors from the RPL, then most of Lokomotiv's recruits have the potential to continue their careers in Europe. Basically, this concerns the same Beka-Bek, Edvaya, Kerk and Angorin, to which Muscovites have the right of priority redemption. Yes, a full-fledged purchase of an Englishman will cost € 17 million, but this can be a worthwhile investment. In the same way and for about the same money, CSKA took Nikola Vlašić from Everton in 2019, and then sold him to West Ham for € 30 million.

And in light of the current position of the RPL in European football, such an approach seems the most logical and expedient. To start making money, domestic teams need to become part of the European market, and the only way to do this is to take their place in it and begin active interaction with other representatives of it. And Lokomotiv is moving in this direction, both by inviting talented foreigners and Russians, and by starting cooperation with Rangnik. The word of such a master can be crucial both during negotiations with potential newcomers and their subsequent sale.

In this regard, the railway workers qualitatively stand out against the background of the majority of RPL grandees that do not have such a clear vector of development. CSKA is trying to move in a similar direction, but is experiencing serious problems with the selection of personnel - both among players and coaches. The appointments of Ivica Olic and Alexei Berezutsky to the position of head coach have not yet justified themselves, and the transfer policy raises many questions. Particularly surprising were the same partings with the promising Maradishvili and Tiknizyan, as well as the refusal to try to compensate for the loss of Vlasic. As a result, although the army team completed the period of additional applications in a huge plus (€ 41.83 million), they did not strengthen the composition. All this indicates either the presence of serious financial problems, or the numerous failures in the negotiations. Anyway,but in the summer it was said about the interest of the red and blue to a number of players, but all this remained at the level of rumors.

As for the rest, troubled times have come again in Spartak, as a result of which there is no need to talk about any development strategy, in the last two years Krasnodar does not adhere to a clear line, but draw conclusions about Dynamo and Rubin yet premature. The influence of foreigners Sandro Schwartz and Zeljko Buvach in the first case, as well as those with experience of working abroad, Leonid Slutsky and Oleg Yarovinsky, definitely affects the second, but both projects are at an early stage and it is difficult to estimate the dividends. In addition, Muscovites still continue to spend more than they receive, which may well lead to negative consequences.

As for Zenit, the strongest club in Russia in recent years continues to keep aloof and make expensive injections into the team. In the last four seasons alone, Petersburgers have spent € 80.27 more than they subsequently bailed out. Yes, all this helped them win the national championship three times in a row and secure a ticket to the Champions League, but in the European Cup itself, the results were unsatisfactory - twice Sergei Semak's wards finished last in their groups, it will not be easy this time either. Fighting Chelsea and Juventus for the playoffs will be daunting, and the rivalry with Malmö for a Europa League ticket promises to be tough.

But taking into account the fall of Russia in the UEFA coefficient table and the fact that in the near future representatives of the RPL may stop receiving a direct ticket to the Champions League, Zenit may have nothing to compensate for the huge costs. Now they are partially covered by the income from getting into the main European Cup (€ 15.64 million for the performance at the group stage), but in the absence of this, St. Petersburgers may have problems with financial fair play.