What is interesting about Barinov's transition?
In the current off-season, the name of the Lokomotiv midfielder was mentioned in the press a little less than Artyom Dzyuba or Hamid Agalarov, but this does not make his future any less intriguing.
Over the past years, Dmitry Barinov has held the title of one of the strongest Russian oporniks and has been repeatedly named among the main candidates for leaving for Europe.
Earlier it was reported about the interest in him from teams from England, Germany and France, and in the winter there were rumors about the interest of Valencia.
There is nothing surprising in this.
Barinov is the captain and one of the leaders of Lokomotiv, he is regularly called up to the national team and has a solid experience of playing in European competitions.
According to the authoritative portal Transfermarkt, Dmitry is currently ranked fourth among the most expensive Russian footballers (€11 million).
You will have to pay more only for Arsen Zakharyan (€15 million), Matvey Safonov (€16 million) and Alexander Golovin (€25 million).
But Aleksey Miranchuk, who moved to Atalanta almost two years ago, will cost less.
And it's no secret that Barinov himself was seriously considering the option of leaving for Europe.
In mid-June, he stated that he “remains” at Lokomotiv for the time being, but did not rule out the possibility of moving to another team.
According to the football player himself, his agent has already received a number of offers from clubs, not only Russian, but also foreign.
How Dynamo became the main contender for Barinov
Apparently, over time, Barinov's hopes for moving to one of the strongest European championships began to melt.
As Lokomotiv sports director Thomas Zorn stated, the desire to acquire the midfielder was expressed exclusively by RPL teams, while foreign ones were not interested in inviting him, which is explained by the current geopolitical situation.
For Russian football players, the queue from foreign teams did not stretch before, but now the organization of their transitions abroad has noticeably become more complicated.
And not only because of the often hostile attitude from the fans, but also potential problems with the transfer of funds.
According to media reports, this was largely the reason for the lack of proposals for the transfer of Agalarov to Europe.
One way or another, in June there were rumors only about the readiness of Galatasaray and Trabzonspor to accept Barinov.
But these options are unlikely to suit the midfielder himself.
The Turkish Super League is not one of the leading leagues on the continent, and performance there could hardly be a worthy alternative to the conditional Example or Serie A. In recent years, it has acquired the status of a championship in which people go to finish the game rather than develop.
So, the largest acquisition of local teams last season was Miralem Pjanic, a 31-year-old Bosnian, written off first by Juventus and then by Barcelona.
Apparently, it was the lack of opportunity to continue a career in the top leagues that made Barinov think about moving inside the country.
And Dynamo showed itself most actively, which leaves no hope of becoming the national champion for the first time since 1976.
Last season, the white-and-blues fought on equal terms with Zenit for a long time, but in the end they fell apart.
And largely due to the lack of depth of the composition.
Why Barinov decided to leave Lokomotiv
It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally, because the footballer himself has not yet decided on his future.
A number of journalists believe that Barinov is dissatisfied with the club's policy and its development strategy.
And there are indeed reasons for this.
After all, over the past year, the railway workers have turned from a contender for medals into an experimental team with vague prospects, which is in the process of restructuring.
Over the past year, Lokomotiv has experienced as many events as other clubs have in a decade.
First, Ralf Rangnick was appointed to the position of head of sports and development, designed to make a modern European club focused on the development and sale of football players.
All this led to a massive purge of the squad and the purchase of young players, only a part of which began to immediately justify the funds invested in them.
And already at the end of autumn, the German left to coach Manchester United and left the red-greens in limbo.
He was replaced by compatriot Lars Kornetka, but not for long - in April, and the assistant left Moscow, after which Zorn remained at the head of the project.
In parallel with the leapfrog in the leadership, there were constant changes in the coaching bridge.
Instead of objectionable Rangnik Marko Nikolic, Markus Gisdol was invited, but after the start of a military special operation in Ukraine, he left his post.
Since then, the team has been led by Marvin Compper, a 37-year-old specialist who previously worked only as an analyst at Duisburg.
As a result, Lokomotiv finished sixth and was only two points behind CSKA, but all these upheavals could well make Barinov think about leaving his native team.
And in this case, selling seems like the only logical option.
Next year, Dmitry will expire the current contract with the red-greens.
Perhaps that is why the club is ready to let him go right now, because in the future it may lose the chance to make money on his transfer.
Why other top clubs did not join the dispute over Barinov
Over the past years, only Zenit has shown steady interest in the midfielder.
The desire of the Petersburgers to get Barinov was reported back in the summer of 2021, and since then rumors about a potential transfer have regularly appeared in the press.
According to Sport-Express, the blue-white-blues were ready to shell out €8 million for him, but things did not go beyond talk.
Now the acquisition of Barinov, although it makes sense for the current champions, is hardly a priority during the pre-bid campaign.
One of the best defensive players in the championship, Wilmar Barrios, plays in his position, in theory, Wendel, Douglas Santos and Daler Kuzyaev can also close it.
Yes, there are plenty of problem areas.
After the departure of Yuri Alberto, there was a shortage of strikers, and Yaroslav Rakitskiy - central defenders.
And that's not counting the fact that, under pressure from the public, St. Petersburg may also leave Dejan Lovren.
CSKA and Spartak have long needed the Six, but in this case, relations between the clubs may interfere with a potential transfer.
Lokomotiv is traditionally considered a direct competitor of both and is unlikely to want to strengthen one of them.
And perhaps Barinov himself is not eager to move into the camp of historical rivals.
It is especially difficult to imagine him as part of the ten-time champions of Russia, whom he shouted an insulting chant at in 2018.
Will he be able to immediately become the main one in Dynamo?
If you believe a source close to the new head coach of the blue and white Slavisa Jokanovic, he personally approved the transfer of Barinov.
Therefore, if the Serbian specialist does not see him as an iron base player, then at least he is sure that the midfielder can be useful to the team.
And it's hard to argue with that.
At the moment, Dynamo is experiencing a shortage of performers in the middle line.
Only Nikola Moro and Daniil Fomin can play in the support zone, and this despite the fact that the Russian is more likely to attack, and the departure of the Croatian in the status of a free agent, although unlikely, is not excluded.
And in this case, Dmitry will immediately become not just a player in the starting lineup, but a cornerstone in the middle of the field.
It is still difficult to say how Barinov fits Dynamo's style of play, because under Jokanovic the team has not played a single official match.
However, there is no reason to doubt its ability to adapt to new conditions.
In Lokomotiv, he showed himself well both in the more defensive model of Yuri Semin, and in the high-pressing Gisdol and Compper.
Yes, and in trying to be like Liverpool, the Russian team Karpin was irreplaceable.